Kelly Holloway: Adventure in Reefside
by Lily Hanson
Summary: It's been a few months since the Rangers defeated Lothor, but now he's back, and he's got Tori, Dustin and Shane under his control. With the help of the Dino Rangers, will Kelly and the rest of the Ninjas be able to save them?
1. Lothor's Return

_Author's Note: You guys don't really expect me to write Ninja Storm and not finish with the team up, do you? I don't own anything in here except my own original ideas. Comments are welcomed, reviews are better!_

* * *

Kelly glanced up at the sign as she stepped out of the car. She and Hunter were meeting up in Reefside with Blake and they were going to bring him home during his few days of vacation so he and Tori could meet up. The original plan was that Tori come up to visit him, but Sensei had called an emergency meeting and left the details rather cryptic.

They had arranged to meet up with Blake in a local café that went by the name of Hayley's Cyberspace. Kelly thought it was a good idea, being an entrepreneur herself. Kids loved technology and they loved food, probably more than they loved sports.

"C'mon," Hunter smiled as he locked up the car, "Stop staring and let's go in. It's been a while since I've seen my bro."

Kelly nodded her head, taking Hunter's hand as they walked in. The two gazed around quickly and spotted Blake at the bar with his pal Jesse as well as another girl, dressed in yellow.

Hunter ignored the fact that Blake was in the middle of the conversation and rushed right over, grabbing his brother.

When Hunter let go Blake introduced everyone. Jesse, upon seeing Hunter, had dropped Blake's bags off by the counter, said his goodbyes and took off. He had only tagged along to keep Blake company. Now he needed to head off for some practice laps before the big race.

"Uh, Hunter, Kelly, this is Kira," Blake said, pointing to the girl in yellow. "Kira, this is my bro Hunter and his girlfriend Kelly."

"Your brother?" Kira frowned, noting there was not a familiar trait between the two boys at all.

"We're adopted," Hunter explained. Kira let out a small gasp.

"Oh, I'…"

"Don't sweat it," Blake smiled. "We get it all the time. So how about my offer?"

"Are you asking me out?" Kira asked. Blake shook his head.

"No, no, not at all," he said. "Part of being a rider is spreading the word of our sport. You know, like getting people to come out. People who never would on their own. I take it you're not really a sports fan, are you?"

"Music is my thing," Kira nodded.

"Well, I promise you, you'll totally be into it," Blake smiled.

Kira shook her head, "I guess. The guys would probably love it."

"The more the merrier," Blake smirked before letting Kira go. He turned to Hunter and Kelly, and then the clock, "Wow, perfect timing, dudes."

"It's easier to get out the door when Hunter actually wants to travel," Kelly laughed. She checked her watch, "But, um, if we're going to surprise Tori, we're going to have to leave now. The meeting wasn't supposed to last all day."

"Are you sure you'll be okay to some extra traveling right before the big race?" Hunter asked as his grabbed his brother's bags.

"Dude, if I had to go another few months without seeing you or Tori I don't think I would have to worry about how I performed in this race. You don't know how long I've been looking forward to today."

"We can imagine," Kelly smirked. "Tori couldn't stop talking about it. Leanne and I had set up a countdown in the surf shop."

"You should have seen her face when Sensei called the meeting and refused to let her back out," Hunter laughed. "It was priceless."

-Reefside-

As the three Senseis traveled through the forest in search of Sensei Watanabe, Tori couldn't help but chuckle to herself. They had all just finished up their training with a small group of students, and Tori had noticed just how much Shane was beginning to sound like Sensei. It freaked her out to be honest, but she needed to focus on what made her smile.

If she had it her way, by now she would be getting showered and changed and on her way up to Reefside to visit her boyfriend, whom she hadn't seen in months. She had been looking forward to this day since he took off and was completely devastated she had to cancel on him. She would be lying if she said that some of the punches she threw at her students weren't for Sensei Watanabe's head.

But she cleared her mind and tried not to act like she was completely bummed out. If she did, Dustin would just initiate another awkward hug.

"You know, Shane, you kinda sounded like Sensei back there."

"Yeah, well, speaking of Sensei, wasn't he supposed to meet us here?" Shane frowned, looking around the forest for any sign on his master.

"Do you think he forgot?" Dustin asked. Tori turned to him.

"He said it was urgent, he wouldn't forget."

"Yeah, and if he did he would have to suffer the wrath of the angry girlfriend," Shane smirked, turning to Tori. She glared at him.

"Don't make me go there."

"Hey, check it out," Dustin said, grabbing Tori's arm as he pointed to a scroll hanging from a tree. The three Senseis rushed over to it, praying he wasn't cancelling this urgent meeting. They had all given up too much to be here.

"Tori, Shane, Dustin," Shane began reading, "Go to the highest point in Blue Bay Harbour. Meet me there at Sunset."

"Do not speak of this matter until I have spoken to you," Dustin finished reading off the letter. He turned to his two friends. "Well, that's a bummer."

Tori rolled her eyes, "At least the meeting's not cancelled."

"If it's so urgent, why did he push it back?" Shane asked.

"I don't want to think of that right now," Tori said as she unzipped the top of her uniform, allowing herself to loosen up. The one thing she hated about the leather uniforms were that they were so tight. Shane and Dustin didn't hesitate to do the same.

-Reefside-

"Dude, you moved in with Kelly?" Blake asked as he set his bags down in Kelly's loft and noticed a few of Hunter's items were scattered around.

"Yeah, of course," Hunter nodded. "I don't make enough to pay rent on my own."

"Where am I supposed to sleep, then?" Blake asked. "I was looking forward to sleeping in my bed."

"I'm sure Tori will let you stay with her," Kelly smirked as she walked to the fridge. "She bought her own place with Leanne just a few minutes from her shop. Do you want anything to drink?"

"No thanks," Blake declined. "How is the shop coming along?"

"Pretty good," Hunter nodded. "The Grand Opening is in a few weeks. Right now we're all just helping unpack boxes and set up shelves."

"Sounds great. I'll see if I have some time off around then," Blake smiled. He checked the time quickly, "What time will I get to see her at?"

"Not too sure," Kelly frowned. "Leanne's going to call me when she gets home. Until then, you and Hunter have some catching up to do."

-Reefside-

Tori, Shane and Dustin walked to their meeting point and saw their Sensei looking out at the water with a look of concern on his face. The three approached him slowly, alerting him of their presence, without disturbing him.

"Sensei," Tori called softly, "is everything alright?"

"No, Tori," Sensei said, turning away from the water. "I'm afraid it's not."

"You don't look so hot," Dustin commented before Shane smacked him in the arm, "Uh, I mean, no offense."

"None taken, Dustin."

"So what's up?" Shane asked.

"He's back," Sensei said, turning back to the water. "Lothor is back."

"Wait, dude, Lothor can't be back," Dustin frowned, eyeing his friends before looking back at Sensei.

"We saw him disappear into the abyss of evil," Tori pointed out.

"Wait… if Lothor really is back, how are we going to fight him without powers?" Dustin asked, bringing up a good point. They had won their final battle without their Ranger powers, but the suits had proven useful many times. There was no way they could defeat Lothor without a little help and protection.

Sensei held his hands out, at which a box materialized in his hands, confusing Shane, Dustin and Tori.

"Cam has been saving these for just such an occasion," Sensei said as he opened the box, revealing the three Wind Ninja Morphers. "Shane, Tori, Dustin it is with a heavy heart that I must give you your morphers. A dark cloud has descended upon us, and it is time for you to resume your duties as Power Rangers."

The three Rangers strapped their morphers to their wrists, feeling the adrenaline coming back. It was only now they realised just how much they loved and missed being Rangers.

Shane looked at his Sensei, "We won't let you down."

He, Tori and Dustin pressed on their morphers to activate them, but felt an unfamiliar surge of energy running through them, Sparks flew from the morphers, as well as their bodies, as the three of them collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily.

"Well?" Sensei asked, his voice changing suddenly as he watched the Rangers with a devilish grin on his face, "How do you feel?"

"Like Blue Bay Harbour must be destroyed," Shane replied.

"Why stop there?" Tori smirked, "I want the whole country."

"And then the world!" Dustin added.

"That's what I was hoping you would say!" Sensei shouted before changing almost instantly with a wave of his hand, into Lothor. "I never thought I would say this, but it's a pleasure to see y'all!"

"And it's our pleasure to serve under you," Shane said as he bowed.

-Reefside-

Blake and Hunter had long since run out of things to discuss. They had talked on the phone often enough, that there wasn't too much news to share. Blake's eyes continued to stray over to the clock as he wondered how long Tori's meeting could have been.

Hunter looked over to the kitchen, where Kelly had reluctantly decided to start making dinner.

"Maybe your sister forgot to call," he said.

"Leanne wouldn't forget," Kelly frowned.

It was then that the phone rang. Kelly put down the pot and grabbed it.

"Leanne?"

"_Yeah, but I have some bad news. Think you guys can come to the Academy?"_

"Why?" Kelly said. Blake and Hunter turned, hearing her unusual tone. "Is everyone okay?"

"_Define okay."_

"We're on our way," Kelly said as she hung up. She pointed to the coat rack, "I guess we're going to the Academy."

"What was that about?" Hunter asked. Kelly shrugged as she turned off the stove and placed everything in the fridge.

"I don't know, but something's happened."

-Reefside-

"So, you think it's Lothor?" Hunter asked as he, Blake, Cam and Leanne walked around the wreckage. The Wind Ninja Academy had been attacked, and all the students had been taken. Cam had been out in the forest, looking for his father when the attack happened. He could only assume Lothor was behind it after finding some goo that he recognised from the Abyss. However, as much as the school and the students were a concern, he was worried about Tori, Shane and Dustin. He hadn't seen them since they left to speak with his father, and if Lothor really was on the loose, he would be after them.

"It would have to be," Cam sighed. "Who else leaves purple slim in their wake?"

"You haven't seen the others?" Kelly asked.

"Not since they left," Leanne frowned. "We're a bit worried. I even tried calling Tori, but I got her voicemail. I left her a message, telling her Blake was in town… but nothing."

"Now I'm worried, dude," Blake said. "Do you think Lothor got them? It wouldn't be the first time he's played the con card."

"You better hope this is a con and that the guys are still alive," Kelly said. "I'm going to go check around town. Maybe I'll find them there."

"I'll come with you," Leanne nodded, refusing to leave her sister alone now that Lothor was possibly back. She turned to her brothers and her boyfriend, "Why don't you guys check the Abyss? If Lothor's escaped, he would definitely have left his mark."

"Good thinking," Hunter said. "You two be careful."

"We're not going to the Abyss," Kelly said.

Kelly and Leanne turned and ran for the exit and quickly hopped into the car. When Kelly turned it on, the radio started up. Leanne flicked through the stations, hoping to catch the news. If Lothor was back, they would hear about it.

"… _wore a mask over his face and ran once police… a woman leaves her child in the… in other news, the Dino Rangers in Reefside have finally met their match as they face off against…"_

"No, wait, go back," Kelly told her sister as Leanne changed the station. Leanne shrugged, flipping back.

"… _could this be the end of the Dino Rangers? It seems the rivalry between Reefside and Blue Bay has gotten to these colour superheroes. Stay tuned as we cover this fateful fight."_

"Well," Leanne frowned. "Reefside?"

"One step ahead of you," Kelly nodded as she drove back onto the path and headed in the direction of Reefside.

-Reefside-

The city was completely deserted, which was normally a bad sign, but Leanne and Kelly were looking for a fight. Something had happened to Shane, Tori and Dustin and it was making them fight the Dino Rangers all the way in Reefside.

Leanne picked up on the sounds of metal bins crushing and small explosions and led Kelly through a maze of alleyways until they finally reached the sight of the battle. Wanting to stay as far away as possible until they came up with a plan, Kelly pointed to one of the abandoned buildings. At the top was a bridge, connecting it to the other building. From that bridge, they could looked down and examine the fight.

When they reached the top Leanne grabbed Kelly's arm, holding her back.

"Whatever happens, don't you dare move from this spot," she told her sister. Kelly nodded. The last place she wanted to be was in the middle of a Ranger battle. Leanne could take care of breaking up the fight on her own.

Shane kicked the Red Dino Ranger in the chest, sending him flying into his team-mates, knocking them all down while the Winds regrouped, laughing maniacally. As they were about to finish off the Dino Rangers, Leanne summoned her Thunder staff, pulled her mask over her face and jumped down, landing right between the two teams of Rangers.

Shane, Dustin and Tori pulled back when they saw the ninja and immediately recognised her.

"Out of the way, Leanne," Shane barked. "This fight doesn't concern you."

"This isn't you, guys," Leanne said. "You have to stop this."

Dustin tapped Shane, "C'mon, dude, I've had enough fun for one day. We'll finish them off another time."

Shane nodded in agreement. As he turned to leave, he gazed back at the Dino Rangers.

"Expect us soon," he said.

The Dino Rangers got to their feet, powering down. They weren't worried about protecting their identities from Leanne; she was obviously on their side. And, anyways, she already knew one team of Rangers.

"Uh, thanks," Conner, the red Ranger said as Leanne pulled off her mask. "We owe you one."

"We just want our friends back," Leanne said. She looked up at Kelly, signalling that it was okay for her to come down.

Conner held out his hand, "I'm Conner, this is Kira and Ethan."

"Leanne," Leanne said. "The Rangers you were just fighting are my friends. Shane, Dustin and Tori. Something's happened to them and we're not quite sure."

"You keep saying we…" Ethan frowned before Kelly ran out of the building. Leanne smiled and pointed.

"This is my sister Kelly. We're both here to help you guys."

Kira looked at Kelly for a moment before recognising her.

"I met you at Cyberspace," she said. "You were with that motorcycle guys."

"Motocross," Kelly corrected, "And yeah, Blake."

"You didn't tell me you knew the Power Rangers," Kira said, only to realise how stupid that statement was. Kelly laughed.

"Well, you didn't tell me you were the Power Rangers," she smiled.

"Look, maybe this isn't the best place to talk," Conner said. "Why don't we head back to Dr. O's?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Ethan questioned. "These guys know those evil Rangers. What if this is a plan."

Conner pointed to the symbol on Leanne's chest, recognising it.

"Remember how I told you my brother trained at a Ninja school?" Conner said.

"I remember you telling us about how he flunked out," Kira laughed.

"Well, she's from the other school," Conner said.

"Thunder Ninja Academy," Leanne nodded. "You can trust us."

"And if you don't believe her, I can't fight for shit," Kelly laughed. "I'm just the store owner who one day got in way over her head."

"I guess we're going to Dr. O's," Ethan shrugged. Conner nodded and smiled as he led the way home.


	2. Dinos vs Winds

Kelly and Leanne were a little impressed with the Dino Ranger base. It was no Ninja Ops, just the basement of some teacher's house, but the equipment was pretty high tech for a basement base, and so far it seemed to have helped the Rangers save the world.

The Dino Rangers sat on the small flight of stairs leading up to the main computer. Kelly and Leanne stood a little ways away from them while their mentor, the Blake Ranger, Tommy Oliver, debriefed them on their fight.

"The important thing is you guys are okay," he said. "And that we learned something."

"What it's like having our butts kicked?" Conner frowned.

"Hey, don't be so hard on yourselves," Kelly said. "Those Rangers are trained Ninjas. They've been fighting for years."

"She's right," Tommy nodded. "It's going to take a lot more to defeat them."

"More?" Kira asked. "Like what?"

Tommy shook his head, "I don't know, Kira. That's what we need to figure out."

"Well, why don't we just use our Ninja Zords and kick their ninja butts?" Conner asked, getting to his feet. His other Rangers followed him. Kelly turned to Leanne with a slight look of fear.

"You can't destroy them," she breathed. She pointed to the monitor, "Evil or not, they're our friends."

"Kelly's right," Tommy said. "These people were once good. Something happened to them and until we figure it out, we defend ourselves, but we don't destroy them."

Ethan turned to Leanne, "Why can't you stop them, then?" he asked, pointing to her Thunder Staff resting against the wall. "You might stand a better chance than us?"

Leanne picked up her staff, "I can hold them off, but I don't think I could stop them without your help."

-Reefside-

Lothor sat on his chair, feeling proud of his victory against the Dino Rangers. He had won a few battles before, but always turned up short in the end. This time he had a good feeling. This time he wasn't going to lose. He had his own team of Power Rangers fighting loyally for him, and they were powerful.

"Well, that was quite a sight," he said as he relaxed.

Shane nodded and chuckled, "It was brilliant."

"You truly are a strategic genius," Tori smiled. Dustin walked up behind her, nodding his head.

"I can't wait to face the Dino Rangers again."

Lothor smiled, basking in his glory as he yawned loudly.

"I think it's time for a power nap, what do you say, Rangers?"

"I think you've deserved it," Shane said, bowing to his master. Lothor jumped up.

"Anyone want to join me?" he asked, gazing at Tori specifically. Dustin grabbed her arm, pulling her back slightly. Even under Lothor's spell, he still didn't feel right leaving anyone of his friends alone with the evil Ninja, especially Tori. Lothor had been making subtle hints at a romance ever since they all arrived in the cave that served as a base, and thankfully Tori had declined them all. Though Dustin's job was to serve Lothor, his loyalty was still to his friends. He would only follow Lothor as long as Shane and Tori did. If they broke away from him, so would he.

"We'll do you one better," Dustin smiled just before a woman walked in confidently.

"You're going to need more than a nap to defeat the Power Rangers," she said, clutching her sword that rested on her hip. "Lucky for you, my master is willing to help out."

Shane walked up behind her, glaring at the back of her head.

"How did you get in here?" he asked. The woman didn't coward, she stood strong and turned, snapping at Shane.

"Back off, buddy!" she shouted before she turned back to Lothor, "Mesogog doesn't mess around with amateurs."

Lothor approached the woman, "It seems Mesogog has sent us his messenger. The least we can do is listen to the message."

"I don't trust her, Lothor," Tori said, glaring at Else. There was something off about this woman, and her Master Mesogog just by association. Why on Earth would two villains who have the same goal want to team up? Only one person could rule the world in their own way. The other villain would eventually fall.

Lothor waved his hand, dismissing her, "Go do something productive," he told her. "I want to hear what Mesogog has to say."

-Reefside-

Hayley stretched as he pushed her chair away from the computer and turned to Tommy. She was the Dino Ranger's technician and had been working hard on finding the footage of what happened to the Wind Rangers. She was still coming up short, but while working a thought had come to mind.

"You know, there's something we haven't even considered," she spoke up.

"I'm way ahead of you," Tommy said. "Mesogog, right?"

"How does he know all this?" Kelly whispered. Ethan leaned over.

"He's done this before."

"What if Mesogog finds out about this?" Kira asked. "Can you imagine the two of them on the same side?"

"That won't be good," Leanne breathed.

-Reefside-

Blake stared down at the Abyss of Evil. It had been opened up, confirming everyone's suspicions that Lothor had surfaced from its depths. However, the Abyss opening wasn't all bad news. Cam figured that their powers were still locked up down there and because they had the opportunity now, they should go and retrieve them.

"Are you nuts?" Blake finally asked as Hunter placed a helmet on his head.

"If we want to save Tori, Shane and Dustin, we need all the help we can get," Cam said. "Our powers are down there."

"As well as the entire army of monsters we've defeated, twice!" Blake said.

"C'mon, little bro," Hunter smirked. "Don't you want to see Tori again?"

Blake nodded, "Yeah, but…" he looked over the edge again, "dude, that's a long way down."

Cam attached a rope onto Blake's harness, "We'll stick together. If we split up, we're through."

"Thanks, that's just what I needed to hear," Blake said as he lowered himself down slowly. "Have you guys even considered that I might like the whole dominatrix side of Tori?"

"Have you considered the fact that Tori's dominatrix side will try and kill you?" Hunter smirked.

"Something's messing with her mind, Blake," Cam said. "Lothor's got all three of our friends. They're depending on us to save them."

Blake looked down at the pit. His brother and Cam were right. He just wished it wasn't such a long way down.

The three boys lowered themselves down carefully and landed on a ledge. They took off their harnesses, needing as little movement limitations as possible. Suddenly, their noses picked up on the stench.

"That's nasty," Hunter frowned, smacking his brother on the arm.

"It wasn't me, bro," Blake said.

"The sooner we find our powers, the sooner we'll be able to get out of here," Cam nodded.

"Motivation enough for me," Blake said. Hunter turned to him.

"I thought saving your girlfriend was motivation."

"Guys," Cam called, pointing over to the middle of the cavern, "there. It's the samurai Amulet."

"I can't believe there is no one guarding it," Hunter muttered. As if on cue, Zurgane and his army appeared before the Amulet, standing guard. The three men dropped into an offensive stance and Blake cocked his head towards Hunter.

"You had to say it, didn't you?" he asked.

Cam, Hunter and Blake rushed forward, each taking their own small team as they pushed closer and closer to the amulet.

-Reefside-

After the talk with Dr. O, the Rangers, Kelly and Leanne returned to Cyberspace to wait out the eventual arrival of the Wind Rangers. It was also an easier meeting place so the boys could join their girlfriends.

As Ethan sat by the computer, Kelly paced the room with her cell phone pressed to her hear. She groaned in frustration as he hung up.

"Still nothing," she said. "That's the fourth time I call. Where is he?"

Leanne put her phone away, "Cam won't answer either."

"Do you think they went in the Abyss?" Conner asked after overhearing their conversation. Leanne and Kelly seemed nervous when he brought up that thought.

"I hope not," they breathed.

"Hey, guys!" Ethan called, turning to his friends. He pointed to his computer screen, "It says here the Ninja Rangers defeated a hundred space mutants at one time!"

"After fighting them, I believe it," Kira nodded.

Conner looked at his friend, "Oh, c'mon! They weren't that tough!"

"The Red one cleaned the floor with your ass," Ethan retorted, but nothing could pop the giant bubble that was Conner's ego.

"Still, I would fight them right here, right now!"

As Conner finished his sentence the doors were blown open and the Ninja Rangers rushed in, standing in a line against the Dino Rangers. Conner, Kira and Ethan jumped to their feet, standing before their respective foes. Kelly backed away, knowing that if a fight broke out she would be in for trouble.

Leanne rushed between the two teams and placed her hands on Conner and Shane's chest, keeping them both apart.

Shane grabbed her arm, throwing her aside as he lifted his other hand. A strong gust of wind blew, knocking everyone off their feet. The civilians in the store rushed off, while Conner, Kira, Ethan, Leanne and Kelly remained where they were.

Conner growled, "Can I get you anything?" he asked sarcastically, "A coffee or a muffin, maybe?"

"I try to stay away from sugar," Shane said. "It makes me hyper."

"I would hate to see him when he gets hyper," Ethan commented.

"Get up!" Tori shouted, prompting the Dino Rangers to jump to their feet. Conner, Kira and Ethan stood before their respective colours. A smirked tugged on Conner's lips as he eyed the Blue Ninja for a moment.

"Dude," he smiled, tapping Ethan on the chest, "she's kinda cute, don't you think?"

"Yeah, in a crazed Ninja terminator sort of way," Ethan nodded as he checked Tori out. Kelly groaned loudly while Kira smacked Conner on the arm

"Will you two focus?" she snapped, wiping the foolish grins off both their faces. Conner looked over at her apologetically before turning to Shane.

"Can we get on with this?" Shane asked, stepping forward.

"We're not going to fight you here," Conner said.

"Well, we're just going to have to destroy you."

Conner and Shane were only inches apart at this point, with the other four only a step behind their leaders. They exchanged looks before Conner suddenly lunged at Shane. Leanne and Kelly jumped up, breaking up the fight. Leanne stood between the two reds while Kelly pulled back on Conner's arm.

"Guys, not here," Leanne shouted.

"Conner, don't let him get to you," Kelly advised. "He's not thinking clearly, and if you provoke him…"

"Fine," Conner said, shaking Kelly off. He glared at Shane, "We'll meet wherever you want. But you come alone."

"Why should we agree to that?" Shane asked. He pointed to Leanne and Kelly, "You're going to bring your body guards with you."

"I guess you Ninjas don't think you're strong enough to take down a few high schoolers," Kira said, glaring at Dustin. He glared right back at her, his eyes never straying from hers. Ethan and Tori were locked in the same staring contest.

Conner and Shane glared at each other as well, both fighting the urge to attack the other. Leanne could feel them both pressing against her hands.

"Under the Harbour Bridge," Leanne said, turning to face Shane. She could feel Conner pressing up against her back and she was sure that if she wasn't standing between the two of them, they would go at it again. "We'll meet up in one hour."

"Fine," Shane growled, "The eight of us. No one else."

"Fine," Conner snarled, "We'll be there."

All six Rangers exchanged one last look before the Ninjas disappeared in a flash of light. Ethan couldn't keep his composure anymore.

"Ninja streak? Oh, how cool is that?" he laughed to himself. His friends, as well as Kelly and Leanne turned to him with a curious look. Conner pulled away from Leanne.

"I could have taken him," he told her. "If you had just let me."

"No offense, but you were knocked on your asses by a gust of wind," Kelly said. "At least this way we have more time to call the others."

"I thought it was just going to be us," Kira asked. "Don't know ninjas have a code of honour or something."

"Our first goal is to save our friends," Leanne said. She looked at Kelly, who pulled her phone out and again tried to dial Hunter's number.

-Reefside-

Down in the Abyss, Cam, Hunter and Blake were still locked in their own battles, but Cam never took his eyes off the prize. He knocked Zurgane over and rushed for the Amulet, standing on the tip of the ledge, and the tip of his toes, to try and reach it.

Zurgane screamed loudly as he got to his feet and slammed the ground with his swords, causing the entire Abyss to shake. Cam fell backwards, narrowly avoiding death, while Hunter was knocked off his feet and hit the ground hard.

Blake wasn't so fortunate. He had been fighting near the ledge and when the ground shook he lost his footing and toppled over. Hunter saw this and scurried over to his brother, on his hands and knees.

"Blake!" he shouted, reaching his hand out. Blake was too far for him to catch, so Hunter jumped down as well. Cam felt his stomach turned as he watched. He ran over to the ledge where Blake had fallen and looked down.

There, suspended from the rocky cliff, Hunter hung with one arm. The other held onto his baby brother tight. Hunter was just close enough for Cam to reach so the Wind Sensei grabbed his arm.

Zurgane, thinking he had won, turned his back on his enemies and disappeared. Even if they could somehow manage to pull themselves up, there was no way they could make it back to the top of the Abyss.

"Hang on!" Cam called down to his friends.

"I'm trying!" Hunter shouted he looked down at Blake, who was dangling over darkness. The fall was going to be anything but pleasant.

"I'm losing my grip!" Blake called out.

Cam tried to grab on in a way that would help him pull his two friends up, but his grip on Hunter slipped slightly.

Blake groaned loudly, "I can't believe I'm going to miss my race!"

"Dude, where are your priorities?" Hunter asked. "Did you seriously just say that?"

"I can't hold on," Cam grunted, grabbing Hunter with his other hand as the Crimson Ranger started to slip, further and further. Just as Cam was about to lose his grip completely, another hand reached down.

-Reefside-

"Still nothing!" Kelly shouted, resisting the urge to throw her phone into the water. Conner, Kira and Ethan paced under the Harbour bridge, waiting for the Ninjas to show up. They turned to Kelly at her outburst and sighed.

"I'm sure he's fine," Kira said comfortingly.

"You don't think he was stupid enough to go down into the Abyss, do you?" Kelly asked her sister, going back to Conner's thought from earlier.

"If they did, it was probably Cam's stupid idea," Leanne muttered. She eyed her sister, and then her friends, "We can't worry about that, though. The others will be here any minute."

"Are you sure you don't want us to destroy them?" Conner asked, cracking his knuckles. He couldn't wait to prove his strength again. Last time the Ninjas had taken him and his team by surprise. This time they were ready.

"You can't hurt them," Kelly shook her head. "If we can get them out of this spell, or whatever mind games Lothor's played, they'll be great allies. Trust me."

"I think she's right," Kira agreed. "You heard Dr. O. They were good people. We can't hurt them."

"I don't think we'll have a choice once they start kicking our asses," Ethan grumbled. Conner turned to him.

"They weren't that tough!" he shouted. "We can take them on any day. Last time they just caught us by surprise."

The wind picked up before suddenly growing very strong, blowing the Dino Rangers and their allies over and knocking them onto their butts once again. Ethan groaned as he got to his feet, rubbing his butt.

"You've got to stop saying that," he muttered to his friend as the three Ninjas appeared from nowhere. Dustin turned to Kelly, spotting the phone in her hand.

"Already trying to call for help?" he asked before a rock was thrown her way. Kelly shut her eyes, fearing the worse until she felt her phone being ripped from her hands. When she opened her eyes, she turned to the water and heard a splash.

"Dustin…"

"Leave her out of this," Leanne shouted, standing before her sister.

"Your fight is with us," Conner added, "or have you already forgotten?"

"We haven't forgotten," Shane smirked.

"You guys can't do this," Kelly shouted, hoping to maybe break through the spell before things got nasty. She trusted Ethan and Kira wouldn't go too far, but Conner seemed determined to destroy Shane. However, it wasn't the same case for the Ninjas. They were going to do all they could to destroy the Dino Rangers.

"You're on the wrong side, girls," Tori chuckled. "We've finally realised Lothor's the most powerful being on this planet. You might want to side with him before it's too late."

"Side with Lothor? He almost killed my father!" Leanne said, "He's the villain."

"You're just on the wrong team," Shane smirked before rushing towards the two girls. Conner caught his arm and flipped him over, feeling pride in his accomplishment. It was short lived though when Conner's feet were suddenly pulled from under him.

The fight had begun.


	3. Loyalty

Cam turned to face the person who was trying to help him save his friends. He smiled brightly when he saw his father beside him.

"Dad?"

"No time, son," Sensei said, "on my count. Ready? One, two, three!"

Cam and Sensei pulled as hard as they could. Their combined strength was just enough to lift both Blake and Hunter over the ledge and back to safety. Hunter grabbed his brother's shirt, afraid if he let go Blake would fall again.

"Sensei," Blake smiled, dusting himself off, "boy, am I glad to see you."

"Father, what happened to you?" Cam asked. Sensei's smile fell.

"You may already know this, but Lothor has escaped."

"Yeah, we kinda got that part," Hunter frowned. "Are you okay, Sensei?"

"My well being does not matter," Sensei said. "Lothor has assumed my identity and has taken your friends."

"Isn't this deception game getting a little old?" Cam grunted. He moved closer to the Samurai Amulet, reaching over the pit of darkness. His fingers brushed against it as he tried to stretch further, hoping to reach it without falling.

"How did you get away from Lothor?" Blake asked the Sensei. "We thought he took you with the others."

"He left me on a cliff," Sensei explained. "Fortunately for me, he's forgotten just how useful all this training has been."

"Fortunately for all of us," Hunter said.

"Got it!" Cam called, clasping the Samurai Amulet in his hands. The moment the Samurai was back in its rightful owner's hands, five power disks emerged from it. Cam handed the Navy and Crimson ones to the brothers and kept the others securely in his possession. He was going to need it to free his friends.

Blake looked up. The opening to the Abyss was a long way up. It seemed impossible to get back.

Hunter had been thinking ahead. He jumped from one ledge to the other until he reached the harnesses that were still attached to the railing back on the surface. He attached himself to one harness before tossing the other two over to Cam and Blake. They both caught it and tightened themselves in. Cam grabbed hold of his father as the four began climbing up from the depths of the underworld.

-Reefside-

"Conner!" Kelly shouted, watching the fight from a distance. Conner and Shane were up on the railing, suspended rather high off the ground, and Shane had pushed Conner over the railing. Conner grabbed on, just in time to keep himself from falling, but now he was hanging over the edge.

Leanne was too tied up helping Ethan and Kira in their own battles to help. As Conner hung on for dear life, Shane chuckled. Victory was so close, he could almost smell it.

Kelly needed to think quickly. She could challenge Shane to a fight and give Conner some time to pull himself up and catch his breath, but she had only taken a few lessons from Hunter. Enough to hold her own for a moment, but if she got involved in a battle such as this one, she wouldn't last more than a few minutes.

Conner grunted loudly as he tried to pull himself up. Kelly needed to help him.

In the corner of her eye she spotted one of the clumps of dirt that Dustin had thrown Ethan's way. She looked back at Conner. He didn't have much time.

She rushed over to the clump of dirt and picked it up. If she threw it, it wasn't going to hold enough power to distract Shane from Conner. She tossed the clump of dirt up in the air and as it fell, she jumped and kicked it towards Shane.

The Red Ranger grabbed the railing and lifted his foot, pressing it against Conner's chest as he readied himself to push Conner off and watch him plummet. Just as he prepared himself he was nailed in the chest by an exploding clump of dirt. He staggered backwards as the dirt fell into his eyes. With Shane distracted, Conner pulled himself back up.

Shane rubbed his eyes, trying to rid them of the dirt. Conner screamed loudly as he shoved the red Ranger over the railing. Shane wasn't quick enough to catch himself and he was sent plummeting to the ground.

Just when Conner thought he had won, the wind picked up and a cloud of air caught Shane before he hit the ground. The Ninja straightened himself out as his feet touched the ground. He examined his surroundings before his eyes fell onto Kelly.

"Big mistake," he told her.

From up high, Conner watched as Shane rushed Kelly. He clenched his fists and hopped over the railing before disappearing in a flash of light. In a matter of seconds he was on the ground, standing before Kelly as Shane hurried closer. Conner kicked his legs up, hitting Shane on the side of the face and sending him sprawling onto the ground.

Kelly hid behind Conner, "Thanks."

"You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours," he told her.

Dark blue lightning struck the ground, causing Kelly and Conner to cover their eyes and ears as Tori was thrown across the battle field and landed beside Shane. Her body sparked slightly as she pulled herself to her feet.

"You bitch," Tori bit as Leanne and Kira joined Conner and Kelly.

"Sorry, Tor. Hopefully when you come to your senses you'll thank me," Leanne said.

Dustin rolled on the ground until he reached Shane and Tori's feet. He clutched his injured hand as he pulled himself up, glaring hatefully at Ethan.

"That was a lucky shot," he hissed.

Shane looked at his enemies. Enough was enough.

"Let's finish them," he whispered to Dustin and Tori.

Kira stepped forward as the Ninja trio did. Now it was her time to shine. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Conner and Ethan placed their hands over their ears and advised Kelly and Leanne to do the same.

Suddenly, from Kira's small body emerged a scream so loud the ground shook, and the Wind Ninjas were knocked off their feet and thrown backwards.

"Ow…" Kelly muttered as the ringing in her ears started up.

Shane screamed in frustration and pounded the ground with his fists as he jumped up.

"I've had it!" he shouted.

"No, wait!" a voice called from the distance. The eight turned their heads to the side as three figured hopped over the side railing and onto the battlefield. Kelly and Leanne smiled. Kira looked confused.

"Wait a minute… Blake?" she asked, recognising the man who went to stand before Tori. "That's how I know you! You're a Power Ranger!"

"Does that mean help is here?" Ethan asked, turning to the two girls.

"We're not here to help you guys out," Blake frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. "We stick with our own kind."

"Lothor has shown us the error of our ways," Hunter said. Kelly's heart fell as she heard this. Had Lothor really gotten to Cam, Blake and Hunter as well?

"Whoever doesn't follow us we'll destroy," Cam finished. Leanne turned to Kelly with a look of pure terror. Kelly reached out, taking her sister's hand gently.

"This is going to be great!" Dustin grinned, clapping his hands together. Cam held up his hand, silencing the earth Ninja.

"Wait!" he called before turning around. Hunter and Blake did the same, and the navy Thunder Ranger couldn't help but notice navy sparks coming from Tori's body at different intervals. He could only assume Leanne had shocked Tori and the effects hadn't completely worn off yet because of Tori's water powers. He worried for a moment that maybe this plan wasn't going to work. Cam continued, "First, you have to take these."

He held out the three power disks for the Rangers to take. Shane looked at them curiously.

"We already have our powers," he stated.

"It's a power boost, direct from the Abyss of Evil," Cam explained.

Shane took his power disk, "You better be right about this," he said. Dustin and Tori followed suit.

"Believe me, you won't be sorry," Cam nodded.

Tori, Shane and Dustin popped their old disks out and replaced them with the ones Cam had just given them. With one final look at their friends, they activated their morphers. They all felt a surge of energy running through them as they bodies began to spark.

Suddenly, they were thrown off their feet, a move which worried everyone watching. A small whimper could be heard from Tori before the surge of energy stopped.

Cam, Hunter and Blake jumped forward, holding their hands out to help their friends to their feet. Shane gratefully accepted Cam's help as he shook his head. Now not only were his ears ringing from when Kira screamed, but his head was buzzing as well.

"Never do that again," he told Cam.

Tori slapped Blake's hand away as she pushed herself to her feet. She held her head in her hands as her world spun.

"Tor…" Blake called.

"Get away from me," Tori hissed. Her voice was still slightly lower than usual, but it seemed Dustin was the only one who picked up on it.

Tori ripped the power disk from her morpher and threw it to the ground, "You lied!"

"What happened?" Blake asked worriedly as he turned to Cam.

Dustin suddenly shoved Hunter away as he went to stand by Tori. He grabbed her arms and pulled her away.

"C'mon," he whispered. "Lothor's going to want to hear about this."

Hunter stared, his eyes wide. The plan hadn't worked.

The Dinos, Kelly and Leanne watched for a moment as Tori and Dustin ran off. Unsure of what was going on, they stayed back. Leanne wasn't going to wait, though. She pushed her way past Conner and Ethan and ran over to her friends. Cam held his arm out and wrapped it around her lovingly as she approached him. Leanne let out a breath of relief as she hugged him.

Kelly saw this display and trusted everything was safe. She rushed over to Hunter who grabbed her in his arms and lifted her gently, happy she was safe. The same went for Kelly as well, who had been worried she lost Hunter for good, either in the Abyss, or to Lothor.

Shane cleared his throat, "Uh, guys… this is good and all, but what happened."

"Lothor's back," Cam explained as the Dinos walked over slowly.

"Yeah, I know, Sensei told us…"

"That wasn't Sensei," Hunter interrupted. Shane shook his head.

"No, I know Sensei when I see him…"

"It was Lothor," Blake argued.

Shane frowned; "Unless… it was Lothor dressed as Sensei!" it finally clicked for him. Sensei and Lothor had been twins before Lothor was exiled. It made sense that he could fool Shane and his friends into believing he was Sensei.

"Um, this is all highly amusing," Conner butt in, "but does someone want to tell me what's going on?"

"First I want to know what happened with Dustin and Tori," Cam frowned, turning to the spot where his two friends had left. "Dad told me the Power Disks should reverse Lothor's spell."

"And it did," Shane nodded, "For me at least."

"Why wouldn't it work for the other two?" Ethan asked.

Blake bent over, picking up Tori's power disk. He held it carefully in his hand as he turned to Cam.

"Dustin still has his, but Tori rejected hers," he said.

Cam nodded, "Hold onto it. Maybe we can figure out what went wrong."

"You can take it back to Hayley," Conner suggested. "She might be able to figure it out."

"In the meantime we can rest us," Kira nodded. "I don't think I've ever fought that hard."

-Reefside-

Blake handed his girlfriend's power disk to Hayley as he and the rest of the Rangers took a seat at various locations around the Dino base. Sensei had even joined them once Cam informed him of where they were headed.

"Now that Shane's back, I'll admit it," Conner started as he leaned against the wall, "It's a good thing you guys showed up when you did," he said to Blake, Hunter and Cam.

Shane chuckled as he played with his morpher, "A good thing for you guys."

"Whatever, dude," Conner laughed, pushing Shane playfully.

"I'm just playing, man. You guys fight like rock stars," Shane smiled.

Kira lifted her hand slightly, "I for one will take that as a compliment."

Tommy, who had been looking over Hayley's shoulder as she analysed the power disk, turned to face the Rangers. He stood beside Sensei, exchanging a brief glance with him.

"We're glad you're here," he stated to the Ninjas, "But it's time to get down to business."

"Yeah, Lothor's still got two of our friends under his control," Kelly said.

"Any reasons why, yet, Hayl?" Ethan called. Hayley turned around in her chair. She held the power disk in her hand.

"It should have worked," she said. "Unless there was some other energy interfering with the energy flow, Tori and Dustin should be with us."

Blake turned to his sister, "Didn't you shock them?" he asked.

Leanne shook her head, "I only shocked Tori. That doesn't explain why Dustin didn't turn back."

Hayley sighed loudly, "I'll keep working on it. There must be something I missed."

"You're doing great, Hayley," Tommy encouraged.

-Reefside-

Tori followed Dustin through the forest, unsure of where he was leading her. He promised to take her back to Lothor so they could report what happened, but she didn't remember the base being so far away.

"Dustin…" she grunted, swiping at a branch that got in her way. Dustin looked over his shoulder.

"We're almost there."

"No we're not," Tori stopped in her tracks and crossed her arms over her chest. "We're going the wrong way."

"I don't want to go back to Lothor," Dustin stated.

"Excuse me?" Tori huffed. Dustin had to think for a moment.

"Uh… Why should we go back there?" he asked. "You heard the others. Those power boosts were from Lothor and they almost killed us!"

"How do you know the others weren't lying?" Tori frowned. "We should go back…"

"I don't trust Lothor. Just like I don't trust the Rangers," Dustin interrupted. "Anyways, we don't need them anymore. You saw, those Dino Rangers were no match for us. Lothor's just using us."

"I guess you're right," Tori nodded, her arms falling back to her sides. She began walking forward, "C'mon, then. I can hear some water. We can rest there. Tomorrow we're taking the Rangers, and when we're done with them, we'll deal with Lothor."

Dustin let out a huge sigh of relief as he followed Tori. There was no way in hell he wanted to go back to Lothor, and there was no way he was leaving her alone when she was still like this. He touched the morpher on his wrist, where the proper power disk still rested. Subtly, he pressed a button on the side before chasing after his blue friend.

"Wait up," he called after her.


	4. Two Sides

Hayley stretched, taking a break for a moment from the computer. She had been working for hours trying to figure out what went wrong with Tori and Dustin and her eyes and muscles needed a break.

The Rangers were all behind her, scattered in various places of the Dino Lab. Tommy was going to have a lot of explaining to do when Kira, Conner and Ethan's parents found out where their children spent the night.

Hayley rubbed her eyes before she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. She turned around, finding Sensei standing over her.

"Why don't you take a break?" he told her. "You've worked hard. Tori and Dustin will be okay."

"I might be onto something," Hayley yawned, "if I leave now I'll…"

She was interrupted by the sound of her computer being, waking up the rest of the group. Hayley was suddenly very alert as she turned to check out what was causing the computer to act up. She furrowed her brow.

"I don't get it."

"What is it, Hayley?" Tommy asked as he stood behind the chair, leaning over slightly. Hayley's fingers were typing away rapidly as the camera zoomed in on a forest.

"Dustin's morpher has been active," Hayley said. "He's giving us his location."

"I know Dustin's an airhead, but he wouldn't do that on purpose, would he?" Blake asked, turning to Shane and Kelly, who knew the Earth Sensei best. Shane shook his head.

"He could be drawing us out," Conner stated.

"You think it's a trap?" Leanne turned to Conner. The soccer jock shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm just giving out suggestions," he said. "I don't know what's going on."

"Any updates on Tori and Dustin?" Tommy asked Hayley. She shook her head.

"The only possible solution I have is the shocked one," Hayley sighed. "But that still doesn't explain why Dustin's sided with Tori. Leanne, are you sure you didn't shock Dustin?"

Leanne nodded, "Positive, and even if I did, he's an earth ninja. It wouldn't affect him like it would Tori."

"This ninja voodoo stuff is complicated," Kira frowned.

"Yeah, maybe your friend just turned," Conner said. All eyes turned to him.

"He wouldn't turn," Kelly frowned. "Neither of them would turn."

"I would turn before they would," Shane admitted.

Tommy placed his hand on Shane's shoulder, "We'll figure out what they want. Ethan, Shane, maybe the two of you should go see what they want."

"Whoa, Ethan and Shane?" Blake frowned. "If anyone can talk some sense into Tori, wouldn't it be me?"

"I like the one Dino, one Ninja idea," Cam nodded as he looked to Tommy, "But Blake might be better suited for the job. He would know Tori best."

"Actually," Hunter said, almost in a whispered. He turned to his baby brother, "sorry, bro, but I don't think that's true. You've been away for months. I think I know Tori better than you do."

"We exchanged e-mails and talked on the phone," Blake frowned, upset.

"What about Dustin?" Shane asked. "Whoever goes will have to know both of them."

"I guess Shane's right," Cam nodded. "I agree with Tommy."

"What?" Blake gasped as his jaw hit the floor. "You mean I don't get to play knight to my own girlfriend."

"Your motivation to get out of that hell hole was to get away from the stink," Hunter frowned. "Your turn as knight if over."

"No one's playing hero," Kelly said. "At least not now. I can go with a Dino."

"No," Leanne and Hunter both frowned. Kelly looked at them.

"Think about it," she said. "If this is a trap you're going to be down two people. If Shane goes, that's one less person to help you guys fight. If they take those two people to Lothor, you're suddenly fighting four Rangers, not two or three. And I hate to say this, but I think I could get through to both Dustin and Tori on a deeper level than Shane or Blake could."

"That's a lot of points," Conner said, scratching his head. "But it might be a good idea."

"Stay out of this," Hunter snapped before looking at his girlfriend, "Kelly, if this is a trap you could be killed."

"I think I've shown you all that I can stand up for myself. I was there when you defeated Lothor for the first time, and I don't want to take credit, but technically I did knock him into the Abyss."

Leanne thought for a moment. Her sister did have a point. If they sent Shane out with a Dino Ranger, they stood the chance of those two turning and fighting against them. It was already difficult enough fighting three ninjas. They didn't need three ninjas and a Dino. She also knew that Kelly had a strong relationship with both Tori and Dustin, on a level that was probably a little deeper than what Shane had with Dustin and Tori. The three were best friends, but Tori was always coming to Kelly when she had problems and would generally just talk to the guys about her worries if she wanted comfort, not advice or understanding. Dustin and Kelly were very close and anything Shane knew about Dustin, Kelly knew as well. However, Kelly also had a small bonus. Dustin would go to Kelly when he had issues with Shane, and Leanne was pretty sure he had never told Shane about those issues and never once had she heard Dustin talking to Shane about Kelly. Dustin normally talked with Tori about that.

If they stood a chance at bringing both Dustin _and_ Tori back, Kelly was their best bet.

"I agree with Tommy," she said. Hunter turned to face her, his eyes wide.

"You're bullshitting me, aren't you?" he asked his sister. "You just want to…"

"Hunter, you know it's the best choice. No one knows Dustin _and_ Tori like Kelly does. And it's not like she's going in alone."

"We'll be watching her from here," Hayley said as she pointed to the monitors. "If anything happens, we'll know about it."

"And she'll have one of us with her," Conner said. "We aren't ninjas, but…"

"This isn't a rescue mission yet," Tommy nodded. "All Kelly needs is a body guard."

"I don't like you using that word," Kelly frowned. "I might not be able to kick your ass…"

"But she can spear you, bro," Blake chuckled. "Right in the back."

"Shish kabob," Kelly smirked.

Tommy took a step away from Kelly, "What I mean is, if things to get rough, there will still be a Ranger on scene."

"So who's going, Dr. O?" Kira asked, a little nervous she could be chosen. She wanted to help, but she had a hard time taking on Tori on her own. If things took a turn for the worse, she would probably be as helpless as a fish out of water against both Tori and Dustin.

"Conner," Tommy said, without hesitation. Kira breathed a huge sigh of relief. Conner turned to his mentor.

"Me?"

"I agree," Shane nodded. He fought against Conner and had to admit that the boy was tough. If Conner had to, he could probably fend of Tori and Dustin and get himself and Kelly back to safety without much of a problem.

"Anyone disagree?" Cam asked. No one said anything. Hunter wanted to protest sending his girlfriend out, but that had already been decided.

"I guess it's us," Conner shrugged as he turned to Kelly. The red head smiled.

Hunter crossed his arms, "If Dustin or Tori hurt Kelly, I'm going to go down there myself and…"

"They won't hurt her," Conner assured the Crimson Ranger. "Kelly and I make a good team, right?"

Kelly nodded, recalling the last fight at the beach when they had helped each other out. It would be easier for her to be with Conner. In a way, he already knew she wasn't completely helpless. The last thing she wanted was to be coddled the entire time she was out in the forest.

"It's settled then," Tommy said. "Good luck you two."

Conner and Kelly nodded as they took off. Ethan waited for them to leave the room before approaching Hunter.

"So, are you like, your team's pink Ranger or something?" he asked. Hunter glared at the boy in blue until Leanne touched his arm.

"Easy, pinky," she chuckled as she turned to Ethan, "Good point, though."

-Reefside-

"So, if this thing does blow up into a fight, what do you want to do?" Conner asked Kelly as he held a branch up for her to walk under. Kelly shrugged.

"I'll just do what my instincts tell me to do," she said. "Hunter's trained me a little bit, just in case something like this was to happen… but I will admit I might need a little back-up."

"I'm your man, then," Conner nodded. "You were pretty impressive back there. At the bridge, I mean. Where did you learn to kick like that?"

"Um, Ninja training and soccer for a few years," Kelly said. "I'm a bit of an athlete."

"Same," Conner chuckled. "So, soccer? Maybe I can teach you a thing or two…"

Up in the trees, Tori stood on a branch watching the two in disgust. She gagged as she turned to Dustin who was sitting next to her.

"I thought she already had a boyfriend."

"She does, dude," Dustin nodded. He wasn't watching Kelly and Conner the same way Tori was. He kept a careful eye on them but he was playing with a leaf. Though it was important to watch the two on the ground, Dustin was more concerned about Tori. If she made a move, he had to be ready to stop her.

"Does she not realise that moron's flirting with her?" Tori scoffed.

"It's probably harmless, Tor," Dustin said. "Anyways she's like, six years older than he is. He doesn't stand a chance."

"Neither of them do," Tori smirked. She turned to Dustin and saw he wasn't paying much attention. She kicked his hand, knocking away the leaf. "Pay attention, will you. Are you ready to go?"

Dustin tried to shake off the pain in his hand as he looked up at Tori, "Uh, go as in attack?"

"No, we'll have a tea party," Tori frowned, her voice as sarcastic as ever. "Of course I mean attack. We're trying to kill them. What's wrong with you?"

"Uh, nothing," Dustin said as he jumped up. "So what's the plan?"

"Kill one, save the other and use them to find the other Rangers," Tori said. "With them out of our way, Lothor will be easier to stop."

"Then there's no one standing in our way, right?" Dustin asked. Tori nodded.

Down on the ground, Conner was keeping a watchful eye on the trees. This was supposed to be the spot where Dustin's signal was coming from. It was strange he hadn't seen them yet.

"Stop being so paranoid," Kelly said suddenly. "They're ninjas. They're masters at hiding. I don't have to tell you how many times they've scared me at work by appearing from nowhere."

"So are we just supposed to wait for them to surprise attack us?"

"Unless you can spot Waldo, I don't see what else we can do."

"Who is Waldo?" Conner frowned, stopping in his tracks. Kelly turned around.

"It's Dustin's real name."

"Uh-huh…"

"You know, like the _Where's Waldo_ books. He's impossible to find. Like ninjas…"

Conner nodded his head slowly, "Uh-huh."

"He blends into everything," Kelly continued as Conner continued to shake his head slowly. She rolled her eyes. "You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

"Not a clue," Conner said. "Kira thinks I took too many balls to the head."

Kelly laughed, "Trust me, that's not it. I can guarantee I've had more head injuries than you, and I'm not that thick."

"What are you saying?" Conner asked as Kelly started to walk again. He jogged after her. "Hey, Kelly…"

"It means you're stupid," Tori said, dropping from the skies and landing before Kelly. Conner caught up to her and grabbed her arm, pulling her in closer. Suddenly, Dustin dropped as well and landed behind Conner and Kelly.

"Dude, I thought we agreed never to mention my real name," Dustin frowned.

"Look, guys," Conner said, keeping his eye on both ninjas, "We're not here to fight."

"Aw," Tori laughed, "I was looking forward to kicking your ass. But I guess that just means I can save up my energy for your friends. Definitely looking forward to a rematch."

"We just want to talk," Kelly said. "Whatever Lothor's told you, it's a lie."

"We're not with Lothor anymore," Tori scoffed. "He was just going to be dead weight who claimed all the glory."

"Great, so now we're fighting Lothor, Mesogog and these guys?" Conner muttered. Kelly looked at him.

"I'm still thankful I never had to wear the spandex," she said.

Tori suddenly grew tired of the talking. She took a step forward.

"C'mon, red boy. You're fight's with me."

"We're not fighting!" Conner shouted, stomping his feet on the ground.

Tori suddenly rushed him, and the next thing Conner knew, she had him pinned to a tree.

"Yes you are," she whispered before throwing him to the ground. She turned over to Dustin and nodded.

As Dustin raced for Kelly, Tori grabbed Conner by the shirt and kicked him in the stomach. As he dropped to his knees, Tori lowered herself and whispered in his ear.

"You're lucky," she said, "We still need you."

The moment Kelly knew Dustin was coming after her she took off further into the forest, trying to find a place to hide or something that would help her keep him away.

Dustin chased after her, lifting rocks and clumps of the earth and throwing them in her direction. Kelly bolted from side to side as she ran, avoiding a blow to the head or back.

When the two were far enough away from Conner and Tori, Dustin stopped. He watched Kelly running as he focused for a moment.

Kelly looked over her shoulders as she ran. She couldn't hear Dustin's footsteps behind her and wanted to know if he had stopped. She wasn't paying attention to where she was going and failed to see the earth rising up above her. Next thing she knew, she was falling forward, landing face first in the dirt.

"Crap," she muttered, pushing herself up until she felt someone grabbing her. Kelly tried to pull away, but Dustin help strong.

"Kelly," he called, trying to grab her with his other hand. He already had her arm in one hand, but she would be easier to hold if he could really grab her. "Kelly!"

"Let go!" Kelly shouted as she tried to pull free.

"Dude, I won't hurt you!" Dustin told her. Kelly stopped for a moment and looked at Dustin. She shook her head and started pulling again.

"Yeah, right."

"Dude, I'm serious," Dustin said, but he could tell Kelly wasn't going to listen. He let her go but before she could get far he kicked her in the back of the knees. Kelly tumbled forward and he jumped on top of her. He grabbed her wrists and pinned them down to the ground, just above her head. "Stop squirming."

"Dustin…"

"Kelly, that Power Disk worked," Dustin told her. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"What?" Kelly asked. She stopped squirming and looked up at Dustin. "It worked?"

"Yeah."

Kelly frowned, "I don't believe you."

"Dude, I could have killed you by now," Dustin told her. "Instead I'm sitting on you."

"If it really worked, get off," Kelly growled. Dustin shook his head.

"I can't. I know that if I do, you'll try to run away or hurt me."

"Good guess," Kelly nodded.

"So, do you believe me?"

"No, but you might as well talk," Kelly said. "I can't move."

Dustin shrugged. She had a point.

"Okay, look. Whatever Cam did to those Power Disks worked. I'm normal again," he started. Kelly frowned.

"Normally you wouldn't sit on your sponsor and boss."

"Normally you wouldn't run away from me," Dustin counter. "Will you just listen?"

"Fine."

"I'm normal again, but for some reason Tori isn't," Dustin said. "I went with her to make sure she didn't go back to Lothor. The guy's a creep and I'm not leaving her alone."

"So, you're just going along with whatever Tori says?" Kelly asked. Dustin nodded.

"Pretty much. I talked her out of going to Lothor, though, and I guess I talked her out of killing you and Conner. She thinks I'm going to kill you and we're going to use Conner to find the others."

"You're trying to kill me?" Kelly asked. Dustin shook his head.

"No. I just said that so Tori wouldn't kill either of you. If I let her go after you, she's be bringing back your dead body by now."

"Why not just tell her you would kill Conner and let her kidnap me?" Kelly frowned.

"Because, if she came after you but didn't want to kill you, you would have gotten hurt. Tori's a bitch when she's evil, dude."

"So let Conner take the beating?" Kelly asked. "And how do I know Tori isn't over there killing Conner and I'm actually the decoy?"

"You don't. But you just have to trust me, dude. Do you?"

"I do, Dustin. Normally."

"I _am_ normal!"Dustin groaned. "C'mon, Kelly. You just…"

Dustin was suddenly tackled to the ground by a red streak of light. Before Kelly could react, Conner stood over her. He had some bruises on his face, but aside from that he seemed fine.

He held his hand out, helping Kelly to her feet.

"C'mon," he told her, pulling Kelly behind him as he started to run. "We have to get out of here before Tori comes back."

Kelly followed him, glancing over her shoulder one last time. She saw Dustin getting to his feet and shaking his head. Tori approached him, holding her wrist in her arm. Kelly saw Tori noticing her and Conner run away, and she saw Tori taking a step in their direction but Dustin grabbed her arm, pulling her back to inspect her wrist.

Either Dustin was helping Tori recover for the next fight, or he was buying Conner and Kelly more time.


	5. Dark of the Night

When Conner and Kelly returned to the Dino Lab they told their story of what happened to the other Rangers. Conner explained his many bruises and how he managed to turn the tables on Tori and keep her down long enough for him to escape.

Kelly explained her lack of serious injuries. She had a few cuts from the times she fell, none of which bled, as well as some dirt marks.

What Dustin had told her confused everyone.

"So wait, their plan was to kill you and save Conner?" Kira asked once she heard Kelly's side of the story. "Are you sure that's what Dustin said?"

"Positive," Kelly nodded.

"Then why does Conner look like he just came out of a boxing ring and you look like you had fun playing tackle football?" Ethan asked.

"I think it was a trap," Hunter said. "Dustin probably wanted Kelly to feel safe."

"But Tori told me I was lucky…"

"Lucky you didn't suffer any more brain damage," Kira smirked as she eyed Conner. The Red Dino pointed a look in her direction.

"She wanted me alive," Conner said. "If they were only playing Kelly, why would Tori tell me that? We were far apart?"

"It's hard to say what's going on," Hayley frowned. "If I had Dustin's Power Disk I could maybe figure out what he and Tori are up to."

"Until then, we don't trust them," Tommy ordered as he cast a quick glance at Sensei. The elderly man nodded.

"Tommy is right. If Dustin is free from Lothor's spell, he will understand."

"Why wouldn't he just come with us, though?" Cam asked his father. "Shane had no problem turning on Lothor."

"Dustin said he wasn't going to leave Tori alone," Kelly answered for Cam. "He said Lothor was a creep."

"He was," Shane nodded. "The entire time we were with him, he kept hitting on Tori and trying these weird things."

"What?" Blake gasped. Shane placed his hand on the navy Ranger's shoulder.

"Don't worry, he hit on me and Dustin as well. And Tori didn't let anything happen."

"Now I really want her back," Blake muttered, dropping back onto the stairs and holding his head in his hands. The mental image of Lothor even just touching Tori's arm was enough to send shivers down his spine.

"So, I guess we're not supposed to trust anything Dustin says?" Leanne asked Sensei.

He nodded, "For our safety, and his, he is still the enemy."

-Reefside-

Dustin cracked a twig and tossed both ends into the fire he had built to keep himself and Tori warm for the night. He sat lazily on the ground while Tori moved around.

"One kid and Kelly," Tori groaned, kicking the dirt. "Two pathetic weaklings and they got away!"

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Dustin said to his friend. "We both know Kelly's stronger than she looks. And that kid is a Power Ranger."

"He's a fucking soccer player!" Tori shouted. She kicked a rock into the fire. "Wimps."

"Next time we won't underestimate then," Dustin shrugged. "At least now the Rangers know we mean business."

"I mean business," Tori nodded. She turned to Dustin, "I don't know what you were doing. All you had to do was kill Kelly! How hard can that really be?"

"She squirms."

"She's weak."

"I'll get her next time," Dustin said, lowering his gaze so he wasn't looking Tori in the eye. "I underestimated her strength…"

"What strength?" Tori growled. "She's an old business owner. You're a Power Ranger and a Sensei! I expected her to be dead within seconds!"

"I'm sorry, Tor."

"Whatever," Tori scoffed. "Next time I'll take care of her. You can dance around with whatever Ranger they send out. At least I've slowed that red moron down."

There was silence between the two which irked Dustin. He rested on his back and looked up at the sky. Suddenly he turned to Tori.

"What of Lothor?" he asked as she sat down by the fire.

"What about him? We'll deal with him later."

"He's going to wonder where we are."

"It was your idea to leave him," Tori said. "Don't tell me you're too chicken to be on your own team."

"No… but he could come after us."

"Then we take him out," Tori shrugged. There was really nothing too it.

"Just like that?"

Tori looked at Dustin, "He recruited us because he needs us! We beat him before and you know the saying, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em."

"Yeah, but…"

"If Lothor really was a threat he would have killed us by now," Tori said.

Dustin nodded as he gazed back up at the sky. Tori did have a point. He played with his hands as he waited for morning. He couldn't sleep. He had to keep an eye on Tori. He couldn't let her leave his sight.

He jumped when he thought he heard a snap from deeper in the forest. He sat up and looked around before touching Tori's arm.

"C'mon," he told her, pulling her up to her feet as he put out the fire.

Tori frowned, "Dustin, what are you doing?"

"I uh…. We should surprise the Rangers," he said, pulling Tori along.

"I don't know if you know this, Dustin, but we have no idea where the Rangers are!"

"Is that really going to stop you?" Dustin frowned. "Kelly ran off this way with the red Ranger. Hopefully we can still follow their tracks."

-Reefside-

"Milk…" Kelly whispered to herself as she stared at the inside of Tommy's fridge, trying to find the carton of milk. It was late at night and she couldn't sleep. Her fight with Dustin was keeping her awake. She couldn't figure him out. He could have been telling the truth, or he could have come up with a master plan. Even though he was the goof, he wasn't stupid. Kelly knew that. That was why she was so frustrated.

What also frustrated her was the fact that Tommy didn't seem to own any milk.

"Stupid dinosaurs," she muttered to herself as she closed the fridge and walked over to the sink with her glass in her hands. She filled it with water before taking a seat at the breakfast table. As she drank the water she looked around. She didn't understand why Tommy chose to live here. It was isolated and creepy in the middle of the night. The trees casted weird shadows inside the house and every so often Kelly would hear a creek. She felt much safer downstairs, with everyone else.

However, upstairs meant she could move around a little more without waking anyone.

When she finished her water she started making her way over to the sink to put the glass away. She carefully set the glass down, trying not to make a sound. Just as she pulled her hands away from her cup she heard a noise, not a creek. It sounded like something closing. She turned around facing the empty darkness that was the house.

Just underneath one of the windows, Tori turned to Dustin. He had been last to creep in through the window and was in charge of closing it. Either accidentally or on purpose, he had slammed it shut.

"You moron," Tori whispered.

Over by the sink, Kelly thought she heard a voice.

"Who's there?" she called as her hands fumbled around the counter, trying to find a weapon. Hopefully Tommy wasn't organised and left a knife out.

She felt a piece of metal and grabbed it in her hands. She felt the tip; even a fork would do. Anything with a pointed end.

"A spoon?" she whispered, feeling the rounded tip. "I'm going to kill Tommy!"

Tori glanced over at Dustin and pointed in the other direction from where she was headed, hoping they could corner Kelly. Dustin followed her orders, careful to keep an eye on both Tori and Kelly.

Kelly pressed her back against the counter, limiting surprise attacks, but the house was so dark.

Suddenly, water started pouring from the sink behind her. Kelly jumped as she turned around to try and shut it off.

Tori smirked. With Kelly turning her back she could easily scoot in closer. The water running masked the sound of her reaching for a counter drawer. She fumbled around until she found the utensils and pulled out the one with the biggest handle she could find.

Kelly gave up trying to turn off the water and turned around. Let out a small shriek when she noticed a figure only a few feet from her staying close to the ground.

As soon as Tori heard Kelly making a noise she jumped up and tossed the knife in her hands. Kelly saw the metal shining from what little light was creeping in through the window and felt her body freeze up in fear as the pointed utensil came flying right for her head. She shut her eyes, waiting for pain.

She felt pain, but it was a pinching sensation on her neck before she collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Tori walked over to the knife and picked it up. She wiped the blade on her uniform as she kicked Kelly's foot. She couldn't see where she thought she hit Kelly, but figured she must have gotten her considering she hit the ground hard.

Dustin approached Tori, touching her arm.

"Happy?" he asked. "She's out."

"Where are the others?" Tori said. She placed the knife on the counter.

Dustin looked around, "I don't see anyone."

Tori noticed a flight of stairs, leading to a second story.

"You stay here," she said. "I'll check the upstairs."

Dustin nodded, watching her leave as he carefully reached for the knife. When Tori was gone he held it up, using whatever light he could find to inspect both sides of the blade. He found a small scratch on one side and smiled as he placed the knife on the ground beside Kelly, keeping the scratched side facing up.

"That would have hit," he whispered to Kelly's body before he heard a sound. He turned to the stairs. It wasn't coming from there.

A door opened next to the kitchen and Dustin noticed a figure coming out. He scurried as quickly as he could for the stairs, but the figure found a light switch and turned it on.

Dustin realised he was trapped when the lights came on and he was standing in plain sight.

"Dustin?" Hunter asked, slowly dropping into a defensive stance. "How did you get here?"

"Dude, don't do anything you'll regret," Dustin said, holding his hands up. "I won't hurt you. Tori's upstairs looking for you guys."

"She's here too?" Hunter asked. From the corner of his eye he noticed Kelly sprawled on the kitchen floor. His temper flared as he turned back to Dustin, "What the hell did you do?"

"She's fine!" Dustin said. "I swear. Don't yell, though, Tor'll hear."

"I don't give a fuck!" Hunter shouted as he ran for Dustin. The earth Ninja jumped out of the way and made as much noise as possible. He would alert the others, wherever they were, giving Hunter some back up for when Tori came down.

Conner was the first one up the stairs as he ran quickly towards Dustin, tackling him into the kitchen table. He landed on top of the yellow Ranger and punched him in the face. Dustin didn't fight back. He held his hands up to protect himself.

"Dude, I give!" he shouted as Tori came downstairs.

"Dustin what's going on?" Tori called before she noticed Hunter and Conner. Only seconds after her arrival, the rest of the Rangers came upstairs.

Ethan cast a glance over at the kitchen and his eyes widened, "I'm never staying over here again at night."

Leanne wasted no time going after Tori while Shane ran for Conner and Dustin.

"I give!" he heard Dustin shouting over and over again as he blocked punches from Conner. Shane ripped his fellow red off his best friend. Whether Dustin was good or evil, he wasn't going to let Conner beat him senseless.

Hunter walked over as Shane broke up the fight. He grabbed Dustin and rammed him into the wall.

"If she's dead I'm going to kill you," he growled.

Blake watched as his sister fought his girlfriend, both trying to take out the other. He wanted to help, but he had no idea what to do. His brain told him to help Leanne. In the long run it would be what was right and it would help Tori. His heart told him he couldn't even lay a hand on the girlfriend he hadn't seen in months and he needed to save her from Leanne.

Leanne was thrown across the room. She hit the wall hard and slid down. Tommy approached her while Ethan and Kira exchanged looks with Blake.

Blake shrugged, "I can't hurt her!"

"I can't hit a girl!" Ethan shook his head, "even if she is attacking us!"

Kira rolled her eyes and stepped forward, reading her body for a scream.

Tori wasn't going to fall for that trick again. She grabbed the closest object she could find, in this case it was a cushion, and she whipped it at the Yellow Dino. Kira caught it but stumbled backwards. Though it was only a cushion, Tori had a good arm.

"Ow…" she muttered, sinking to her knees.

Ethan's eyes widened, "She's deadly!"

Tori pulled her hair away from her eyes as she looked around. Dustin had been captured, and if she stayed any longer she would be as well. She turned to the door.

Blake saw her leaving and ran after her.

"Tor!" he called, catching her hand before she could leave. Tori pulled away but Blake pushed her against the wall. He didn't want to her hurt her, but he didn't want her to leave.

Cam, who had been with Kelly trying to figure out what happened, turned around to see what was going on. He saw Dustin had given up while Tori was fighting for freedom.

"Take her out, Blake!" he shouted, realising the odds that Blake listened to him were slim to none. Blake's eyes started to tear.

"It's for your own good," he whispered to Tori. He pressed one arm against her neck, keeping her against the wall while his other hand touched her head. He pressed his fingers lightly against her temples and closed his eyes.

Tori shook for a quick second before slumping forward. Navy lightning sparked from her body as Blake held her.

"She'll be fine," he whispered, not for the others, but for himself.

Dustin squirmed in Hunter's grasp, trying to see what was going on.

"Dude, did you just shock her?" he asked.

Blake looked over at his friend, "I didn't want to hit her."

"She's out, that's all that matters," Tommy said as he helped Leanne to her feet.

Shane pulled Hunter away from Dustin and grabbed Dustin's wrist with the morpher. He pulled out the Power Disk.

"Hayley will need this," he said.

"Dude, I'm telling you. I'm fine. Tori's the psycho one."

"Tori's psycho? She threw a freaking pillow at Kira! You threw a knife at my girlfriend!"

"Actually," Cam spoke up as he inspected the knife. He held the weapon in one hand and a rock in the other.

"She's fine, I promise," Dustin assured Hunter. "I wouldn't let anything happen to her, dude. Trust me."


	6. Teamwork

Under Hunter's watchful eye, Dustin passed his Power Disk over to Hayley for her to examine and compare. She had been studying Tori's for a long time now, but couldn't figure out what went wrong when Cam and the Thunders tried to reverse Lothor's powers on the three Winds. She hoped that through comparison, she could find her answer.

"You don't know how much I've needed this," Hayley told Dustin as she took the disk and hooked it up to the computer. Dustin smiled slightly before he turned around and saw Hunter glaring at him. He lowered his head.

"Dude, I'm not going to hurt her."

"Until she tells me otherwise, I can't trust you," Hunter frowned. Dustin was about to say something until he saw Kelly's still unconscious body in the background. Hunter was extremely protective of his girlfriend. He had to be. She wasn't a ninja, but actively involved in the ninja life, and she was very hard-headed when it came to her friends and had put herself in danger without thinking of the consequences.

"Alright, fine, just stop staring," Dustin said. "You're making me uncomfortable."

"Bite me," Hunter growled before he turned to look over at his brother, "How is she, bro?"

Blake looked up, "Not awake yet."

"It's for the best," Tommy said. "Until Hayley figures out what went wrong, Tori needs to stay down."

"Yeah, I don't think I want to fight her again, dude," Ethan nodded.

Blake sighed before turning to look back at Tori. He held her hand in his, disappointed that this was the first time he saw her. Lothor ruined everything.

"I guess we should just be looking nothing else has happened yet," Kira said. Cam quickly tapped his knuckles against the wood on Tori's cot. Kira heard him and nodded, "Thanks."

"What do you think Lothor is planning?" Conner asked. He tossed a little red soccer ball in the air. "World domination?"

"Maybe he can defeat Mesogog for us," Ethan smiled. He knew it was wishful thinking, but there wasn't much else to do for the time being.

"Yeah, that'll happen," Shane chuckled. "Lothor's good, but he's lazy. He'll only defeat Mesogog once he doesn't need him anymore. I wouldn't be surprised if he sends Mesogog out to fight us."

"If I fight a dinosaur, that'll be cool," Dustin said as he sat down close to Shane. The Red Ranger glanced at him for a moment but placed his hand on Dustin's shoulder. He sympathised with his yellow Ranger, unlike everyone else. While everyone still doubted that he was back with them, Shane knew that Dustin was back. There was no way he could come up with a plan this elaborate, and even when he was under Lothor's power, he was still as gentle as could be. Dustin was just a good guy, through and through.

Hayley swivelled around in her chair, "Well, I have the results. Anyone want to hear them?"

"Go ahead, Hayley," Tommy nodded. Hayley held up the blue and yellow Power Disks. She tossed the yellow one back to Dustin.

"He's telling the truth," she said. "As far as I can tell the Power Disk works like it was originally supposed to. Dustin was just faking it."

"I told you," Dustin said, looking at Hunter specifically. Hunter let a small smile escape. He was happy his friend was back and all that worrying had been for nothing.

"So what happened with Tori?" Blake asked. "She wouldn't fake it."

"It's probably got something to do with Leanne shocking her moments before you tried the energy transfer," Hayley said. "The energy in her body didn't mix well with the energy coming in and it just didn't work."

Leanne lowered her head, "My bad."

"Saved my life," Kira shrugged.

Blake looked at Hayley, "So does that mean we can't change her back yet?" he asked. "I had to shock her to get her to pass out."

"It depends on how long the energy stays in her body," Hayley said.

"She's a water ninja." Leanne said. "Water conducts electricity."

"I would wait, then," Hayley nodded.

"You might want to use this time to figure out what you're going to tell her," Tommy instructed. "She may have a lot of questions."

"Yeah, like what happened," Kira chuckled. She glanced over at Kelly's bed, seeing the red head wasn't awake yet. "Hayley, what's happened with Kelly?"

"She'll be fine," Hayley assured the yellow Ranger. Her body's probably resting.

"You would know how hard Tori can throw," Dustin nodded. "Imagine if that pillow had been a knife."

Kira gulped loudly, holding her stomach. Hunter turned to his friend as a thought hit.

"Why the hell would you let Tori throw a knife at Kelly?" he asked. "I thought you were protecting all of us?"

"I couldn't let her know I wasn't siding with her! She already thought I was incompetent because I let Kelly escape!"

"So, to protect Tori, you put Kelly in danger?"

"I had this under control," Dustin said. "She's fine, isn't she?"

"She's probably terrified!" Hunter shouted. Conner tossed his red ball at the crimson Ranger's head.

"Dude, relax," he said as he motioned to Kelly, "She's not hurt and Hayley said she would be fine. Dustin's plan worked."

"Conner's right," Tommy said. "Right now I'm more worried about Mesogog and Lothor than I am about the girls."

Dustin sighed in relief, happy everyone was staring to back him up until he saw something moving in the corner of his eye. He turned towards Tori.

"Uh, you guys might want to let Hunter beat on me," he whispered as Tori stirred again.

"Tori?" Blake called gently as he leaned over her. Tori's eyes flew open suddenly as she grabbed Blake by the shirt. She pulled herself up and threw him to the ground as she jumped out of bed.

"Dustin," she shouted, turning to who she believed was her only ally. Dustin looked at her.

"I tried," he mouthed.

Hunter quickly picked up on Dustin's idea and grabbed his arm, yanking him back.

"Just calm down, Tori," he said. "We're not going to hurt you or Dustin. Just give up."

While the Rangers tried to talk Tori down, Kelly slowly started waking up. She rubbed her neck as she opened her eyes and looked around.

Dustin and Tori were down in the Ranger base. She wasn't sure what was going on, but she figured her friends must have gotten them back.

She tried to recall what happened before she passed out. She remembered seeing a figure on the ground moments before the knife was thrown her way. She could remember screwing her eyes shut and freezing up in fear, thinking the knife was going to it.

As she thought about those memories breathing became difficult. She tried to calm down and think as she touched her own face. There were no bumps or bandages, and she couldn't remember feeling pain in her face.

Her heart slowed back to regular pace when she realised the knife never hit her. As her panic faded she remembered a pinching feeling in her neck before she passed out. Someone saved her.

Suddenly she heard Tori screaming.

"You liar!" she was shouting at Dustin. Kelly noticed her body shaking in terror and rage. She must have been confused as well.

"Tori, calm down," Blake said, inching closer to his girlfriend. "He was just trying to…"

"Get away from me!" Tori screamed. She slapped his outstretched hand away and glared at Dustin, "You're going to regret this!" she shouted before suddenly taking off.

"Tor! Wait!" Dustin shouted.

Kelly didn't know what took over her, but she couldn't let Tori get away. She jumped out of bed and raced after her. Just as Tori reached the stairs she tackled her, pinning her to the ground. Hayley raced over with Tori's power disk. Now was as good a time as ever to try and bring the water sensei back. She clipped in on Tori's morpher, hoping it would work.

Tori pushed Hayley and Kelly away and bolted up the stairs. Conner, Kira and Ethan chased after her while the rest of the Ninjas helped Kelly and Hayley to their feet. From upstairs they heard a thunderous noise and Shane and Dustin recognised it as Tori morphing.

Blake hurried upstairs to see what was going on with his girlfriend once he was sure Hayley and Kelly were okay.

Hunter chuckled softly as he wrapped his arms around Kelly.

"Where the hell did you come from?" he asked.

Kelly shrugged, "I still want to know what happened."

"I told you she would be fine, dude," Dustin said, patting Hunter on the shoulder. He looked at Kelly. "He wouldn't believe me."

"So, you're back?" Kelly asked him. "Like, really back? This isn't a joke or a trick or a dream?"

"Never was," Dustin nodded. "I was telling you the truth back then."

"Everyone's back but Tori," Leanne explained for her sister. "As far as we know."

"The power disk should work unless Tori's still buzzing from Blake's attack," Hayley said. "But it's worth a shot. Worst case scenario is we fry her brain and leave her completely confused and terrified."

"That's worst case?" Cam asked.

"I don't want to see her confused terrified," Dustin said, rubbing his arm. "She's already a bitch when she knows what she's doing."

"You don't have to live with her," Leanne grumbled.

Conner, Kira, Ethan's footsteps could be heard as they came down the steps. All the ninjas turned to their allies, hoping for good news.

"She's back," Ethan smiled, throwing his hands up in the air. It felt good knowing his colour counterpart was no longer a threat. "She's a bit confused, but she's back."

Blake and Tori followed, with Blake taking the lead and holding Tori's hand so she wouldn't fall down the stairs. She accepted his help seeing as she was a little disorientated from the energy running through her body, expelling Lothor's influence.

"I want an explanation," she said when her feet hit the ground. She turned to Conner, "And not one that starts with uh and ends with babe."

"Lothor's back," Cam said. Tori nodded her head.

"I got that part. What happened to me? Who are they?"

She pointed to Hayley and the Dino Rangers. She knew she had fought the Rangers and almost defeated them, but she wanted to know what the connection was between them and her friends. If they were true allies, or if the two Rangers were just caught in the same web.

Kira smiled, "I'm Kira, that's Conner, Ethan, Dr. O and Hayley."

"We're the Reefside Rangers," Tommy added. "We're here because we think Lothor and Mesogog have teamed up. Lothor tried to use you, Shane and Dustin as his own army of Rangers."

"And we kicked your butts, huh," Tori chuckled. "Even after a few months, we've still got it."

"I fear the problem is worse than we thought," Sensei spoke finally. While the Rangers had been dealing with Tori, Sensei had been monitoring the satellites, watching for any signs of Lothor or Mesogog. With the Rangers occupied trying to save their own kind, the two villains could have been up to anything. Sensei had a strong feeling in his gut and on the screen it had manifested itself into an army of monsters and aliens from the past. Monster the Ninja and Dino Rangers had previously defeated, as well as Lothor's generals and Elsa.

The Rangers Hayley, Leanne and Kelly rushed to the screen to see what was going on. Blake placed his hand on Tori's shoulder.

"Are you going to be okay to go out there?" he asked his girlfriend.

Tori nodded her head, "No one messes with my mind and gets away with it."

"I hear ya," Kira nodded, high-fiving her fellow female Ranger.

"I'll get Trent," Tommy said. "We can use all the help we can get."

"I'll tag along then," Leanne added.

Hunter immediately turned to Kelly, "No."

"I wasn't going to say anything!" Kelly frowned, crossing her arms. Hunter raised his eyebrows.

"You didn't have to. I know you want to go out there."

"Is it really a bad thing?" Kelly whined. She grabbed his arm, "I'll be fine. I promise."

"She is tough, dude," Conner nodded.

"And you do fight better when you know Kelly's in danger," Shane pointed out.

"We need all the help we can get," Tommy said. Kelly smiled and stuck her tongue out.

"I think I like the Dinos better than you," she laughed. "They trust me."

Hunter rolled his eyes, "One condition."

"I won't leave yours or Leanne's sides," Kelly said. "Blah, blah, blah."

"You guys ready?" Tommy asked his team. Conner, Kira and Ethan nodded.

Shane turned to his Rangers, "Ready?"

"Ready," the ninjas all nodded.

Tommy smiled, "Let's go show them what teamwork is all about."


	7. ThunderStorm

Elsa and Zurgane stood before their army of monsters, both from Mesogog's army and Lothor's army. Together, they were going to take out the Rangers and finally bring the world to its knees for their masters. Elsa cast a glance over at Zurgane and smirked while he wasn't looking. Her master already had a plan for after the battle. There could only be one ruler.

The Rangers ran as fast as they could with their respective counterparts. Shane and Conner were in the lead, as they knew where they were headed. Tori and Kira, as well as Dustin and Ethan were only a few steps behind.

Tommy and Cam were right in the middle of the group and they could occasionally glance back at Blake and Trent, and Hunter, Kelly and Leanne to make sure they were still following.

The thirteen stopped in a straight line, all facing the monsters and generals before them as they dropped into a fighting stance.

"Let's be careful," Tommy ordered everyone, "but let's get it done."

Conner nodded and took a step forward, "Are you guys ready?"

"Ready!" everyone answered and the Rangers held their morphers up. The Dinos called out their morph first, followed by the Ninjas as an explosion of fire and lightning crashed behind them. They were all specific in their calls, naming their dino power or their elemental power.

After a while, Kelly yawned as she looked at Leanne. The younger red head shrugged, causing Kelly to turn to the Rangers.

"Seriously? Please tell me you don't do that every time," she asked the Rangers as she glanced at her wrist to prove her point.

"Now you know how we feel," Else snapped before pointing her sword forward, "Attack!" she shouted and the monster rushed forward on her command. Conner, Shane, Dustin, Ethan, Tori and Kira ran ahead of the group as their bikes materialised before them. They jumped on and drove towards the incoming army of monsters, blasting at anything they could, taking out anything that would be too weak to survive and narrowing down the opposition's numbers.

Hunter turned to Kelly and Leanne, "You guys stay back. Only help if things really get bad," he told them.

Leanne and Kelly nodded. Tommy looked at Hunter, Blake, Cam and Trent before the five of them rushed off to help their friends.

Hunter and Blake had a clear path to Zurgane and rushed for him. Zurgane pulled out his swords and the battle began. Tommy quickly jumped in to help, attacking three on one.

Cam and Trent drove forward on Trent's bike, blasting at the Wolfblades, the Tyrannodrones and the Kalzacks.

Kelly could feel the Earth trembling under her feet and had to focus to keep herself balanced. Beside her, Leanne stood steady, like the shaking had no affect on her balance. She watched the fight with a stern look on her face, like she was waiting for something to happen.

"You're really showing off, aren't you?" Kelly asked her sister.

Leanne smirked, "Just wait for it."

Kelly looked back at the battlefield and the first thing to catch her eye was Kira and Tori soaring through the skies together, pointing their blasters at Elsa. The woman clad in black threw a ball of energy towards the two girls, narrowly hitting them as they fired their blasters.

All three of them were thrown back from the many explosions, but Kira and Tori pulled themselves up quickly. Elsa rolled on the ground and slowly pushed herself up. She hand one hand clasped firmly onto her arm and she stood with a hunch, breathing heavily.

Kelly turned, wanting to see how her boyfriend was doing with Zurgane. She noticed Hunter and Blake jumping out of the way in synchronization, letting Tommy fly forward and kick Zurgane in the chest before landing behind him. Tommy, Hunter and Blake stood at three different points around Lothor's General, forming a triangle around him. Blake and Hunter lunged forward, keeping Zurgane distracted while Tommy summoned power from the energy orb. The Thunder brothers jumped away just in time as Tommy's energy was launched forward, hitting Zurgane. The General collapsed to the ground, exploding in different pieces as his energy faded away into nothing.

The rest of the monsters were taken out in a similar fashion. By the end of it all, Kelly was seeing colours in her eyes from the many explosions and the smoke was beginning to fill the battlefield, blocking everything out.

Kelly turned to her sister, "Did they do it?" she asked.

Leanne nodded and smiled before she heard something coming from behind her. Without alerting her sister, she turned around slowly.

Kelly continued to watch the Rangers. The smoke began to rise and she could see them all coming together in celebration. She smiled, until she saw her sister flying over her head and landing roughly on the ground. Kelly turned around and took a step back as the Rangers all ran towards her. Cam and Blake stopped beside Leanne, helping her to her feet and holding her up as she doubled over in pain.

Lothor stepped forward, "You didn't really think I would just let you guys win, did you?" he asked.

Elsa approached the Rangers and Lothor, her glare fixed on the evil Ninja, "You were never going to win."

Lothor held his hand up as a beam of energy was shot at Mesogog's right hand woman. Elsa's eyes widened before she disappeared, saving her own life.

Lothor turned back to the Rangers, "Give up!"

Shane stepped forward, "We destroyed you once; we can do it again!"

"Is that so?" Lothor held up his hand again and the Rangers were blown off their feet as they all landed in a heap, coughing loudly. Their Ranger Powers failed them and they were all left in civilian state and vulnerable.

Ethan coughed as he propped himself up on his hands, "You know, no offense to you guys, but I never assumed Lothor was actually a threat."

"It's the ponytail," Kelly winced.

"We won't underestimate him," Conner said as he struggled to get back to his feet. Once he was up, he held out a hand, pulling Kira up as well. "Are you guys ready?"

"Hold on, dude," Dustin called from the ground. He sat up and shook his head, "It's been a while since we've been Rangers."

Shane got to his feet and pulled his friend up, "C'mon, man. One fight to end it all."

Dustin nodded and stood beside Shane. Tori got to her feet as well and glared at Lothor. Shane stepped in front of Tori and Dustin.

"You lied to us!"

"You'd think they'd get Rangers who were smarter than you guys," Lothor laughed. "Of course I lied! I'm the bad guy!"

"He's got a point," Kira nodded.

"You won't mess with our heads again, Lothor!" Shane barked as Tori pointed her glare to Kira.

Cam approached Shane, placing a hand on his shoulder, "We have a problem."

Shane turned around. Ethan rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, he's six feet tall, has a ponytail and he's standing over there," he pointed to pointed to Lothor while Conner nodded in agreement. Shane ignored the Dino boys as Cam redirected his attention over to Leanne. Blake lifted her hand off her stomach, revealing a deep gash that torn right through her uniform. Leanne's hand was shaking as she glanced up at Shane, worry and fear etched on her face.

Cam dropped beside Leanne, wrapping her in his arms. He couldn't leave her, even if it was to settle a score with his uncle. Blake felt the same. Leanne was his sister and family came first.

Tori looked at Blake and nodded, wordlessly telling him she would fight the battle for him. Lothor hurt his sister, someone had to defend her.

Tori turned to Lothor and clenched her fists. He was seriously starting to piss her off. She wasn't the only one though. Kelly could almost hear Hunter's blood boiling as he stood beside her. His face matched his Ranger colour as he fumed. Kelly wasn't far from his point of anger though. Leanne was her baby sister, by blood. She touched Hunter's arm.

"I don't give a fuck about personal safety," she said. She turned to Lothor, "Someone's got to kick his ass."

"Kelly…"

"No," Kelly shook her head. She wasn't hiding anymore.

"I'll watch her dude," Conner said, stepping forward. Tori shook her head.

"Kira will watch her," she said. "If something happens, we'll all hear Kira scream."

"That doesn't sound creepy at all," Kira stated. She touched her morpher as she turned to Conner, "Think it'll work?"

"They better," he nodded. "If not, we're unarmed."

"We'll take care of Leanne," Tommy announced to the six. "You guys take care of Lothor."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Conner said. He stepped forward, calling out the morph for himself, Ethan and Kira. Hunter and Tori were quick to follow.

As the Rangers morphed, Kelly had her own plan. She couldn't fight like any of them could, so she would be useless in hand to hand combat against the evil space ninja. She did however have other tricks up her sleeve. When Zurgane exploded, he left behind a sword. When one of the monsters vanished, they left behind a bo.

Unnoticed by everyone, Kelly left her group and picked up the two items. This quarry was filled with tools Kelly could use to build her own weapon. Leanne had taught her a few tricks with the thunder staff; Kelly could use that.

When the Rangers were morphed they rushed forward and Hunter quickly jumped into the fight, throwing punch after punch in Lothor's direction. Conner backed him up, attacking Lothor from another angle so he couldn't focus all his energy on Hunter alone. However, one wrong move from Hunter allowed Lothor the chance to reach his arm out and grab the Crimson and Red Rangers by the necks. He lifted them both up off their feet. As the two Rangers struggled for breath, Tori motioned for Kira and Ethan to follow her orders.

The two dinos nodded and rushed forward, leaving Lothor with no choice but to toss Conner and Hunter aside so he could free up his hands for Ethan and Kira.

"Now!" Tori shouted before they got too into their fight. Ethan and Kira both jumped to the sides, leaving Lothor confused as to why they would suddenly retreat. Tori smirked as she glared at Lothor. "Power of Water!" she shouted and aimed a thin yet powerful beam of water at Lothor's chest, painfully causing him to stagger backwards.

Fed up with the water boarding, Lothor decided to fight fire with fire. He stood against the water attack, as much as it hurt.

"Power of Earth!" he called as the ground began to tremble. Rocks were suddenly lifted from the ground. Tori's water powers failed as she looked on, panicked.

"Shit…" she muttered before turning around and running. Lothor threw his hands forwards and a large rock was projected Tori's way, nailing her in the back. Tori stumbled and rolled on the ground as her Ranger suit disappeared.

"Tori!" Blake shouted as he watched. Cam nodded to his friend.

"I've got her," he said, motioning to Leanne. Blake smiled softly before running after Tori.

Lothor wasn't done yet. He threw a second rock towards Conner and Hunter. They jumped out of the way just in time to avoid being hit, but landed on the ground just as the rock did and were showered by the debris which cut through their suits, causing them to power down.

Lothor turned to Ethan and Kira. The two dinos exchanged looks through their visors as a rock hurtled towards them. Ethan pulled out his shield as Kira ducked behind him. The rock smashed against the shield, throwing both Rangers onto the ground. Kira rolled slightly farther than Ethan, who unfortunately found his foot was caught under the rock. He groaned as he pushed the rock away and pulled his foot in closer to his body as his powers disappeared.

Kira knelt down beside him. She placed her hand on his back for comfort before realising she was forgetting something. She looked around.

"Where's Kelly?" she whispered to Ethan. He rubbed his leg, knowing there was no way he would be able to stand on it.

"I have no idea," he answered her. Kira made sure he was okay before standing up.

Lothor chuckled, "I see there's just one left," he pointed to the four others. None of them were still in their suits. Kira noticed the same thing and suddenly felt very alone, though she knew Shane, Dustin, Tommy, Trent, Blake and Cam were right behind her, ready to back her up in case this team fell.

Suddenly Lothor was swept off his feet. He landed with a loud thud on the ground and Kira could feel the vibrations under her feet. She noticed Kelly standing over Lothor, with her makeshift weapon in her hands. The end with the sword pointed at his neck. The yellow dino couldn't help but chuckle. Lothor had been bragging a lot about power and he had been knocked flat on his ass in one move by a store owner who was in way over her head and couldn't fight for shit.

Lothor smirked. His ego wasn't bruised yet, "Well, well, you're the sister, right?"

Kelly pulled her weapon back slightly, "Yeah."

"You're just the Ranger's friend, right?" he asked. "You're not a threat."

"If you think so," Kelly nodded.

Lothor got to his feet and Kelly took a cautious step back. The evil space ninja chuckled, grabbing her weapon with one hand. Kelly clutched onto it tighter as Lothor leaned in.

"Seeing as you're not a threat, you have five seconds to run."

Kelly shook her head and yanked the weapon from Lothor's hand suddenly and delivered a powerful roundhouse kicked to the side of his face, something she learned way back when she was a child in her kickboxing classes. Lothor was thrown to the side as he landed on the ground.

Hunter pushed himself to his feet and ran toward Lothor before he could get back. He had already severely injured his sister; Hunter wasn't going to give him the chance to hurt his girlfriend. He jumped on Lothor, pinning him to the ground.

Kelly smirked, "Hunter, he's going to the Abyss no matter what, right?" she asked. Hunter looked up momentarily.

"Yeah."

Kelly nodded, "Perfect," she said, flipping her weapon around so the sword was facing the ground. She held it over Lothor's shoulder before jamming it down. Hunter got up as Lothor screamed in pain. He pulled out the weapon from his bleeding shoulder and threw it aside.

Hunter grabbed Kelly and started running back towards the other Rangers.

Shane stepped forward, "Time to end this!" he shouted.

Conner jumped to his feet, "I'm with you on that. Dino Thunder, Power Up!"

"Ninja Storm, Ranger Form!"

"Batalizer!" the two called out in unison and in one swift motion they pulled out their weapons, enhanced by the power of the batalizers, and they shot at Lothor, combining their power.

Lothor's screams were masked by the sound of the explosions around him, knocking everyone down and once again filling up the entire battlefield with smoke. When it cleared, the Rangers looked around.

Lothor was nowhere in sight.

Conner turned to Shane as they both powered down, "Is that it?" he asked.

Shane nodded, "I guess so."

"So, like, no Mesogog coming down to avenge Lothor's death or anything?" Dustin asked. "We're like, done, done?"

"I think so, Dustin," Tommy nodded, placing his hand on Dustin's shoulder before he turned back to Leanne, "We might want to get back to the lab, though."

Kira helped Ethan to his foot, the other unable to support any kind of weight, "That sounds like a plan," she agreed.


	8. End of the Tale

Kelly was the only person Leanne trusted to stitch up the gaping hole in her stomach, as she was the only one with official first aid training and who actually had some practice with stitching thanks to Dustin's many motocross accidents.

She hissed loudly, keeping her eyes averted. Cam felt Leanne squeezing his hand as the pain grew. They had nothing that would help her with it, so Leanne was braving it out.

"Sorry," Kelly whispered when she noticed the tears, "I'm almost done, I swear!"

Kelly turned to Ethan to make sure he was properly caring for his leg. It was too risky taking him to a doctor until they came up with a believable excuse. Too many questions would be asked. Conner had offered Ethan a place to stay at his house until his leg healed up, reminding Kelly of how she used to do the same for Tori when she couldn't go home to her mother with bruises and scars. The issue resolved itself, though, when Tori moved in.

"Conner, don't bounce that ball around!" Kelly barked when Conner's red soccer ball nearly hit Ethan's leg.

Conner caught his ball in his hands and sighed. There was nothing else to do while he waited for Hayley, Tommy and Sensei to finish their talk.

"Uh, I'm so bored!" Conner groaned loudly, collapsing down on Hayley's computer chair.

Blake hung up his phone, "I missed it!"

"Missed what?" Kira asked him, hoping this would spark a conversation that didn't start with a whimper and end with a "sorry."

"AH!" Leanne hissed, her face twisting in pain.

Kelly winced with worry, "Sorry! I'm done. I'm done!"

"I missed my race!" Blake answered Kira once he was sure Leanne was okay.

"Can you make it up?" Hunter asked. "You know, like a second race or something?"

"No," Blake leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. "I can't believe I had to miss it!"

"You kinda had bigger things to worry about," Dustin said, his voice slightly sympathetic. "You know, like whether or not your girlfriend was going to kill you or anyone else in the middle of the night."

Blake nodded and turned to Tori, who was sitting by herself on the stairs. Dustin was right. Motocross shouldn't have been his priority. He was here to be with Tori, and so far he hadn't spent any time with her.

He walked over and sat down next to her, "How are you doing?"

Tori looked up for a moment before shaking her head, "I'm okay… just thinking."

"About?"

"What happened. What I said, what I did… what I wanted to do."

"You couldn't control it," Blake smiled, placing his hand on her thigh.

"Yeah, but I was nasty! I tried taking off Kelly's head with a knife! I saw myself doing it and I just couldn't stop…"

"Lothor's got a way of manipulating people," Blake said. "Trust me, no one's judging you because of that… and if it takes mind control for you to be nasty, then maybe that just means you're a nice person."

"Not through and through…"

"Tor, you know how Lothor manipulated Hunter and I, right?" Blake asked. He never wanted to bring that up. That was the time he hurt Tori, really badly, and he still had never forgiven himself for it. He saw Tori nodding her head.

"Yeah…"

"That first time… he didn't use any mind control or anything. That was us… all us. Hunter and I tried to kill you… that's something you can only do under total mind control."

"It's just… it's not easy to get over," Tori sighed. "Everything was so dark and scary," Tori scoffed, "Great, now I sound like a kid."

Blake chuckled and moved his hand so it was laced with Tori's.

"Look, I missed my race today and now I'm out for the season. I've got a few weeks off maybe you and I can hang, you know? And if you need to talk about being used by Lothor, I'm all ears."

Tori smiled and hugged her boyfriend, "I'd like that."

Blake wrapped his arms around her and held onto her tight, taking in everything about her. A few weeks wasn't long enough for him, but he was going to take anytime he could.

Ethan tapped Conner's arm, "Is it wrong for me to be mad at Blake right now?"

"Why?" Conner frowned, turning to Blake and Tori. Ethan shrugged.

"Dude, c'mon, you were with me on the hot ninja terminator thing!"

"Right," Conner laughed. He tossed the ball into the air, "Dude, she's all yours to ogle if you want. I've moved on."

Blake and Tori overheard their conversation and both turned with threatening looks. Ethan quickly snapped his gaze away, finding something else to focus on. Conner laughed again.

"You might want to watch out for the boyfriend, and the ninja terminator herself, though."

Ethan suddenly turned to Conner, "Wait a minute… you said you moved on…"

"Yeah," Conner nodded, still tossing his ball up in the air.

Ethan smirked, "Who have you moved on to?"

Conner shook his head, "No one…"

Over in her corner, Tori coughed and Kelly's name could be heard subtly, yet obviously. She could still remember Conner and Kelly in the forest, and Conner's lame attempts at flirting with the older woman.

"I knew it, dude!" Ethan grinned.

"I have a love of red," Conner shrugged, "So what, it's not like I'll call her a…"

Conner trailed off when Hunter walked by. The crimson Ranger eyed his red Dino friend menacingly.

Conner gulped, "I've moved on again."

"At this point, you're only safe bet is Kira," Ethan chuckled, glancing over at the yellow pterodactyl. "And even then, it's… Kira…"

Kira could hear them from where she was standing. She rolled her eyes and walked over to Tori. Blake took this as his cue to leave. The girls needed to bond, after all.

Tori chuckled as Kira replaced Blake, "You get used to it," she assured her new friend.

"One day, I'm going to switch teams on them," Kira stated, leaning back on the stairs. Tori eyed her suspiciously.

"Wait… switch teams as in fight for Mesogog… or switch teams as in…"

"Either way, they aren't going to like it," Kira smirked.

"You've got a good thing going on with Trent, though… don't you?" Tori asked. She had seen the way Kira and Trent were looking at each other while they sat in the lab. It wasn't romantic, but it kind of reminded Tori of herself and Blake, way back before they knew they had feelings for each other.

"Trent?" Kira asked. "No… no… no. That's over with."

"There was something?"

"Like, two seconds worth, not even. We're just friends, I swear!"

Tori laughed, "Yeah, I believe that."

"Well, believe it," Kira stated sternly. "I had a crush, but it was a falling-for-the-dark-mysterious-guy kinda crush. Now that we know him, he's not dark and mysterious. He's the white Ranger with daddy issues… and Mercer's not even his actual father. I'll be a friend, but nothing more. We're happy like that."

"Alright, alright, I believe you," Tori smiled. She looked up the stairs, where the door was still closed, "So, Tommy then?"

"Dr. O? My teacher? Gross!"

"What? You only have a few months left. Then he's not your teacher. You know, he's kinda hot."

"I heard that!" Blake called. Tori chuckled and turned back to Kira.

"C'mon, ptera, just stop and think about it."

"He's literally ancient," Kira frowned. "He's a dinosaur teacher. I'm seventeen!"

"When you get married to him in a few years, I want an invite," Tori smirked.

"Now I'm going to switch teams just to get back at you," Kira joked. Tori turned back to her and smiled.

Kelly made sure the bandage was secure on Leanne's stomach before standing up. She peeled off her gloves and tossed them into the trash bin, her shot perfect.

Hunter walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Have I asked about basket-ball?"

"Ten times now," Kelly nodded, turning around so she could face Hunter. "Face it; you'll never be able to name a sport I haven't tried."

Hunter smirked, leaning down to kiss her, "I can try."

"Gross!" Leanne shouted, kicking her brother and sister in the legs and pulling on her stomach. She hissed in pain, but was thankful Kelly and Hunter were no longer kissing right in front of her. "For me, it's still incest, no matter how long you two date."

Trent leaned over Cam's shoulder, "What's the story there?" he asked.

Cam turned slightly, "Kelly and Leanne are long lost _half_ sisters."

"Okay."

"Leanne was raised by her father who took in Blake and Hunter when their parents died," Cam explained. "Leanne considers them her brothers and vice-versa. So Kelly and Hunter dating…"

"Awkward," Trent finished. Cam laughed and nodded.

"For her, yeah," he said before tapping Leanne's shoulder, "How about we see if you can stand up now?"

"I'll do sit-ups if it gets me away from them," Leanne said, grabbing Cam's arm as he pulled her up gently, careful not to hurt her stomach.

When Kira left her spot on the stairs, giving up her seat for Blake, Shane walked over.

"What's this I hear about you and Tori switching teams?" he asked. Kira turned to him.

"I was joking… and Tori's got a boyfriend."

"And you…?"

"Apparently I'm getting married to Dr. O."

"Well, Tori did guess right with Kelly and Hunter," Shane remarked. Kira's jaw dropped.

"I'm so staying single," she groaned as she walked away. Shane frowned.

"You don't have to! I'm lonely too!"

Tommy cleared his throat and Shane turned around, his face matching the colour of his Ranger suit. He looked up at Hayley, Tommy and Sensei and bowed politely.

"It was a joke," he explained. "And even if she did… we did… I would be a gentleman."

"Yeah you would," Kira nodded.

Tommy crossed his arms over his chest. Shane had to think quickly to take the heat off himself. He pointed to Tori.

"She's a lesbian!"

"What!" Tori gasped.

Kira rolled her eyes, "For the last time, it was a joke… and I was the lesbian!"

"Hot," Conner smirked. Kira turned to him and growled.

"Ethan…"

"On it," Ethan smirked. He looked up at Conner, "Dude, can I see that ball?"

Conner nodded, "Sure."

Ethan took the ball and threw it at Conner's head. The Red Ranger turned to his blue friend and growled.

"You're lucky you're injured."

"They're all morons," Kira groaned.

"You get used to it," Tori chimed. "If not, there's always Mesogog."

"Are we still talking romantic partners?" Dustin frowned. "Now it's nasty."

Hayley shook her head, "If you guys want a morpher update, I'm ready!"

"Yeah," Shane nodded.

Hayley held up Cam's amulet, "It seems there was only enough energy for one last battle," Hayley said, tossing the amulet back down to Cam.

"So, dude, it's like… dead?" Dustin asked, touching his own morpher. If Cam's amulet was dead, he could only assume the same of his morpher.

"I'm afraid so."

"I guess the fate of the world rests in our hands again," Kira said, turning to the boys on her team. Trent, Tommy and Ethan nodded while Conner had a smug look on his face.

"I guess your lives are going back to normal, then," Ethan pointed out to the ninjas. "It must be nice having some free time."

"Not much," Shane sighed. "I've got a school full of ninjas waiting for me back home, now that Lothor's gone again."

"Ditto, dude," Dustin nodded.

"I've got that, and running my own business," Tori said. She glanced over at Leanne, "And I guess now I'm taking care of you."

"She can stay with Hunter and me," Kelly offered. Leanne's eyes widened. She moved out when Hunter moved in, and there was a reason for it. Kelly only had one bedroom.

"Please, please, please take care of me, Tori!" Leanne begged. "I promise I won't be a pain."

"I'll be there to help," Cam assured Tori. "When I'm not at the Academy, that is."

"And I can help out to," Blake smiled. "I have a few weeks off."

"Okay, I'm not impossible, guys. One person is more than enough," Leanne pouted.

Hunter groaned, "Oh, crap!"

"What?" Kelly asked, turning her head to him.

"Leanne's out for a while, which means I have to take care of all of the Thunder Ninjas… by myself!"

Kelly held her fingers up to her forehead in the shape of an 'L', "Loser," she laughed.

Hunter smirked, "You know, you could come by a few times. Maybe you can show my ninjas a thing or two about battle techniques."

"Yeah, I thought you said you couldn't fight for shit," Conner pointed out. Kelly turned to him and shrugged.

"I couldn't," she said, "but no one had ever stabbed a family member before. I was pretty pissed."

"It was hot," Hunter grinned, kissing her neck.

Leanne covered her eyes, "Can we go, now?"

"We should be getting back," Shane nodded. He walked over to Conner, shaking his hand, "Take care of the world, for us… no pressure."

"You can trust us," Conner smiled.

"I guess we'll have to," Shane said.

Sensei turned to Tommy and Hayley, "Thank you for all your help. We owe you a debt we can never repay."

"Don't mention it," Tommy smiled. "It's what we all do. I'm just glad everything's normal again."

Kelly wrapped her arm around her sister, "C'mon, let's get you home and on a couch," the red head turned to Ethan, "Oh, by the way, motocross accident."

"What?"

"Your leg," Kelly said, "Motocross accident. Happens all the time."

"She's right," Blake nodded.

"Tell the doctor a friend came to town and you tried out their bike."

"Got it," Ethan said.

Kira hugged Tori goodbye, "Are you sure I'm going to survive this?"

"You don't have Dustin on your team," Tori chuckled as she nodded. Dustin walked by the girls and flicked Tori in the arm.

"Hey."

"You're right… I just have Conner," Kira sighed.

Tori hissed, "Yeah, good luck."

The Rangers climbed the stairs as Hayley showed them the way out. Kelly handed off Leanne to Cam and waited for everyone to pass in front of her before she started making her way up.

Before she made it far, she heard Tommy calling her name she turned around and smiled.

"You did good today," Tommy praised her. "I don't think I've ever seen a civilian beat the big bad monster."

"Technically, that's the second time I beat Lothor," Kelly smirked. "Just, don't tell the Rangers. I don't want to bruise their colourful egos."

"Secret's safe with me," Tommy nodded, holding up his hand. "What would the Rangers do with you, then?"

Kelly shrugged and chuckled, "Absolutely nothing."

* * *

_Author's Note: Yep, that's truly it. Kelly's story is over._

_I just wanted to thank everyone who left feedback. I love to hear what you guys have to say as well as read what you guys liked and picked up on. It makes writing fun, easier to do and more rewarding._

_And I can't forget the rest of you readers! Hopefully you all enjoyed reading it as much as I loved writing it. If you have the time I'd love to hear from you, good or bad, if not, hopefully you'll follow with some of my other stories!_

_Thanks again to everyone!_


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